Caecidotea communis (Say, 1818)

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Synonyms

Asellus communis Say, 1818

Status:

  • GB IUCN status: Not applicable (non-native)
  • GB rarity status: Naturalised

ID Difficulty

4

Identification

Waterlice (Asellidae) are distinguished from the terrestrial woodlice by their plate-like pleotelson, consisting of four pleonites and the telson fused together.

Caecidotea communis is generally a larger species with a looser, more ‘floppy’, appearance than Asellus aquaticus or Proasellus meridianus (Harding & Collis, 2006).  The shape of the male first pereopod is diagnostic.

Warren Maguire
Warren Maguire
Warren Maguire
Warren Maguire

Distribution 

Caecidotea communis is introduced from North America and is only known from Bolam Lake in Northumberland, where it appears to occur at the exclusion of the typically ubiquitous Asellus aquaticus.

Habitat

It generally occurs in clear water with a substrate of mud or fine gravel and large quantities of decaying leaves from trees and shrubs (Harding & Collis, 2006).

References

Harding, P.T. & Collis, G.M. (2006) Asellus communis in Northumberland. Bulletin of the British Myriapod & Isopod Group 21: 8-11

Links

World List of Marine, Freshwater and Terrestrial Isopod Crustaceans: https://www.marinespecies.org/isopoda/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=259539

BRC code

91

idBmigTaxa

Cru_1152