Down below

 

A few days ago we happened upon this little isopod crawling along a sandy beach.  

Below is another view in Eric's hand.  The isopod was ~15 mm (~0.5 inch) long.

 

Meet Alloniscus perconvexus!  [We've been calling this one "Allen" for short.  ;)]

This is a terrestrial isopod that lives on the uppermost part of the beach.  

Fun facts about Alloniscus:

• It's an air-breather.
• It's a burrower.  You might see its small mole-like burrows at the surface, but it can burrow 7.5-15 cm (3-6 inches) below the surface.
• It scavenges on beach wrack (seaweeds washed up at the high tide line) at night.
• Its pereopods (legs) are robust and adapted for burrowing:

 

This is the last view we had of Allen, burrowing head first beneath the sand: 

 

Since then I've been wondering about this little isopod's adventures.  What do you think Allen's been up to (or down to)?