iNaturalist Open Source Software
Info
Paridotea ungulata belongs to one of the few families of herbivorous isopods and is able to camouflage itself perfectly, matching the color of the seaweed in which it lives.
It is light green or brown in color and feeds on decaying plant matter.
With its seven pairs of legs, this isopod can cling tightly to seaweed despite strong waves.
Pairs are often seen mating, with the male clinging to the back of the larger female.
The female incubates the eggs in a brood pouch, which can hold 10 to 60 eggs depending on its size.
The eggs hatch into miniature versions of their adult parents, and the young do not spread over long distances.
The body of Paridotea ungulata is about four times as long as it is wide, smooth, with a head only slightly narrower than pereonite 1, and the body is more or less parallel-sided.
The pleotelson tapers, the tip is strongly hollowed out, and the osterolateral corners are pointed.
Sea lice, as isopods are also called, are a food source for some other marine animals.
In South Africa, Paridotea ungulata particularly likes green algae of the genus Ulva, commonly known as “sea lettuce.”
The species is also found on Vema Seamount, a deep-sea mountain located west-northwest of Cape Town in the South Atlantic, which rises from a depth of approximately 4600 meters.
Synonyms:
Idotea affinis Milne Edwards, 1840 · unaccepted (junior subjective synonym)
Idotea edwardsii Guérin-Méneville, 1843 · unaccepted (junior subjective synonym)
Idotea excavata Haswell, 1881 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym
Idotea lalandii Milne Edwards, 1840 · unaccepted (junior subjective synonym)
Idotea nitida Heller, 1861 · unaccepted (junior subjective synonym)
Oniscus ungulata Pallas, 1772 · unaccepted (superseded original combination)
Paridotea ungulata var. atrovirens Collinge, 1918 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym
It is light green or brown in color and feeds on decaying plant matter.
With its seven pairs of legs, this isopod can cling tightly to seaweed despite strong waves.
Pairs are often seen mating, with the male clinging to the back of the larger female.
The female incubates the eggs in a brood pouch, which can hold 10 to 60 eggs depending on its size.
The eggs hatch into miniature versions of their adult parents, and the young do not spread over long distances.
The body of Paridotea ungulata is about four times as long as it is wide, smooth, with a head only slightly narrower than pereonite 1, and the body is more or less parallel-sided.
The pleotelson tapers, the tip is strongly hollowed out, and the osterolateral corners are pointed.
Sea lice, as isopods are also called, are a food source for some other marine animals.
In South Africa, Paridotea ungulata particularly likes green algae of the genus Ulva, commonly known as “sea lettuce.”
The species is also found on Vema Seamount, a deep-sea mountain located west-northwest of Cape Town in the South Atlantic, which rises from a depth of approximately 4600 meters.
Synonyms:
Idotea affinis Milne Edwards, 1840 · unaccepted (junior subjective synonym)
Idotea edwardsii Guérin-Méneville, 1843 · unaccepted (junior subjective synonym)
Idotea excavata Haswell, 1881 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym
Idotea lalandii Milne Edwards, 1840 · unaccepted (junior subjective synonym)
Idotea nitida Heller, 1861 · unaccepted (junior subjective synonym)
Oniscus ungulata Pallas, 1772 · unaccepted (superseded original combination)
Paridotea ungulata var. atrovirens Collinge, 1918 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym
