Wharf Roach
Ligia exotica
Description 3
L. exotica is a widespread "wharf roach" inhabiting rocks in the splash zone in Asia, the Mediterranean, and the northwestern Atlantic coast, among other places. It is very similar to other species of Lygia in both habit and appearance, particularly L. occidentalis which also inhabits disturbed areas near people. Richardson (1905) separated them by the length of the uropods: greater than or equal to 2/3 the body length in L. exotica, less than 2/3 body length in L. occidentalis.
It's presence in California is a bit debatable, as Jass and Klausmeier (2001) listed it on the basis of Richardson (1905), who merely listed "California" as one of the localities, with no further detail. There is exactly one GBIF record of this species in California, from Long Beach in 1950, based on a specimen at the Smithsonian. Given its cosmopolitan distribution that seems to be linked to human shipping, it could easily be in California, and its similarity to other species of Lygia could mean it has gone unnoticed, so California naturalists should keep an eye out for it, but I don't see much definitive online evidence that it has been documented in our state.
Sources and Credits
- (c) FenceObrien, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2571/3847064042_5428b4ae15.jpg
- no rights reserved, uploaded by Scott Loarie
- (c) Ken-ichi Ueda, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
More Info
iNat Map
| Number of articles in flagellum of antenna | >10 |
|---|---|
| Relative position of exopod and endopod insertion on peduncle | Both exopod and endopod inserted distally |
| Distance between eyes | one eye length |
| Uropod length | >2/3 the body length |
| Present in soca? | maybe |
| Present in noca? | no |
