Androniscus dentiger
{{Short description|Species of woodlouse}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Androniscus_dentiger_(cropped).jpg
| genus = Androniscus
| species = dentiger
| authority = Verhoeff, 1908 {{ITIS |id=594216 |taxon=Androniscus dentiger Verhoeff, 1908 |accessdate=November 7, 2010}}
| synonyms =
- Androniscus africanus
- Androniscus alpinus
- Androniscus carli
- Androniscus weberi
- Androniscus wolfi
- Itea dentiger
- Stenasellus hazeltoni
- Trichoniscus dentiger
}}
Androniscus dentiger, the rosy woodlouse or pink woodlouse, is a species of woodlouse found from the British Isles to North Africa.{{cite journal|title=Geographic variation and genetic relationships in populations of the Androniscus dentiger complex from Central Italy (Isopoda, Oniscidea, Trichoniscidae) |author1=Gabriele Gentile |author2=Giuliana Allegrucci |journal=International Journal of Speleology |year=1997 |volume=26 |issue=1–2 |pages=47–61 |doi=10.5038/1827-806x.26.1.5 |doi-access=free }}
Description
Androniscus dentiger is a small woodlouse, at only 6 mm (¼ in) long, and is characteristically pink or orange in colour, with a yellow stripe along the midline of the dorsal surface,{{cite web |url=http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/life/other-invertebrates/walking-with-woodlice/species5b.html |title=Woodlouse wizard — less common species |publisher=Natural History Museum |accessdate=February 19, 2009}} which divides in two towards the animal's tail. It has large eyes for its size and a granular exoskeleton.{{cite web |url=http://pagesperso-orange.fr/zenza/cloportes/Adentiger.html |language=French |title=Androniscus dentiger — le cloporte rosâtre |author =Angelo Gross}}
Ecology
In the British Isles, A. dentiger is found in a wide variety of habitats, including coastal areas, gardens, old quarries and caves.{{cite web |url=http://www.cambriancavingcouncil.org.uk/cavelife/wales/crustacea.html |title=Life in the cave — Crustacea |publisher=Cambrian Caving Council |accessdate=November 7, 2010}} It lives where there is a significant amount of lime available, and is reported to show a preference for Anglican churchyards over Catholic ones because the older, Protestant churches used ox-blood mortar.{{cite news |author=Joe Kennedy |date=July 5, 2008 |title=Meeting Dublin's wildest residents: review of Wild Dublin by Eanna ni Lamhna |url=http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/books/meeting-dublins-wildest-residents-1428177.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018045836/https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/books/meeting-dublins-wildest-residents-1428177.html |archive-date=2012-10-18 |publisher=Irish Independent}}
In the south of its range, A. dentiger is primarily troglobitic, with populations in different cave systems being genetically isolated by the lack of migration between caves.{{cite journal |title=Terrestrial isopods (Isopoda: Oniscidea) in and near the Zbrašov Aragonit Caves (Czech Republic) |author1=Ivan H. Tuf |author2=Karel Tajovský |author3=Jan Mikula |author4=Vratislav Laška |author5=Roman Mlejnek |journal=Proceedings of the International Symposium of Terrestrial Isopod Biology – ISTIB-07 |volume=I. Biodiversity & Systematics |pages=33–36 |url=http://ekologie.upol.cz/ad/tuf/pdf/papers/Tuf+Tajovsky+Mikula+Laska+Mlejnek2008.pdf |access-date=2009-02-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718185316/http://ekologie.upol.cz/ad/tuf/pdf/papers/Tuf+Tajovsky+Mikula+Laska+Mlejnek2008.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-18 |url-status=dead }} Animals like A. dentiger which prefer to live in caves, but are not restricted to the cave environment may be termed troglophilic.{{cite web|url=http://www.fba.org.uk/recorders/publications_resources/cavelife/contentParagraph/00/document/CaveLife_Website.pdf |title=Cave Life in Britain |publisher=Freshwater Biological Association |author=Lee Knight |year=2007 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717122716/http://www.fba.org.uk/recorders/publications_resources/cavelife/contentParagraph/00/document/CaveLife_Website.pdf |archivedate=2011-07-17 }}
In North America, A. dentiger is only known to occur in greenhouses.
Subspecies
According to some authors, A. dentiger may be considered a complex of sibling species or cryptic species . Six subspecies are recognised:
- Androniscus dentiger africanus Arcangeli, 1939
- Androniscus dentiger caecus Brian, 1938
- Androniscus dentiger calcivagus Verhoeff, 1908
- Androniscus dentiger croaticus Strouhal, 1939
- Androniscus dentiger dentiger Verhoeff, 1908
- Androniscus dentiger ligulifer Verhoeff, 1908