The isopod is very well camouflaged against the surrounding sand grains. It's pretty much in the center of the image.
Here's a closer view:
Such a cool little crustacean! I'm not sure which species this is, but it's one of the isopods in the Sphaeromatid family. It's similar to a pill bug ("roly-poly") that you might find under a log, but this marine isopod was in a shallow sandy tidepool.
I love the little turquoise spotting at the posterior end. And that's a neat little black-and-white design in the middle section.
P.S. Here's a different individual from 29 June 2018. You can see how these isopods can roll up into a "Little sphere."
1 comment:
Looks similar to the one found in sand at Shell beach along with a shrimp of the same color pattern. We found them in 1974-1975 while doing 3rd edition of Light's Manual. I still have slides of them.
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