Chiridotea coeca

{{Speciesbox

| image = Chiridotea coeca (YPM IZ 077000) 002.jpeg

| image_caption = Chiridotea coeca 1818

| genus = Chiridotea

| species = coeca

| authority = (Say, 1818)

| synonyms =

Idotea coeca Say, 1818
Chiridotea nigrescens Wigley, 1961

| synonyms_ref = {{cite journal |author=Rachael A. King and Alison M. Cawood |year=2007 |title=A revision of the genus Chiridotea (Isopoda: Chaetiliidae) with species redescriptions and a key |journal=Journal of Crustacean Biology |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=121–139 |doi=10.1651/S-2708.1|doi-access=free }}

}}

Chiridotea coeca, the sand isopod, is a species of isopod crustacean found in the western Atlantic Ocean, from Nova Scotia to Florida.

Characteristics

Adult sand isopods are horizontally flattened.{{cite journal |author=Hugh Griffith & Malcolm Telford |year=1985 |title=Morphological adaptations to burrowing in Chiridotea coeca (Crustacea, Isopoda) |journal=The Biological Bulletin |volume=168 |issue=2 |pages=296–311 |url=http://biostor.org/reference/9955 |jstor=1541242}} The thorax is almost round from above and the long, robust legs with large setae. The abdomen is short and pointed. Sand isopods reach {{convert|15|mm|abbr=on}} in length and {{convert|7|mm|abbr=on}} in width. They use the last pair of legs to dig tunnels in sand. When removed from the tunnels (for instance, by wave action), sand isopods swim down to the substrate, where they dig underground again.

Ecology

Chiridotea coeca feeds on carrion, which it holds with its gnathopods while chewing pieces off with its mandibles.{{cite book |editor=Brian Morton |year=1993 |title=The Marine Biology of the South China Sea: Proceedings of the First International Conference on the Marine Biology of Hong Kong and the South China Sea, Hong Kong, 28 October-3 November 1990 |publisher=Hong Kong University Press |isbn=978-962-209-355-3 |chapter=Are there obligate marine scavengers? |author=J. C. Britton & Brian Morton |pages=357–392 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-1AwfLvAuMgC&pg=PA367}}

Chiridotea coeca

Characteristics

Ecology

References

Further reading