Lekanesphaera levii (Argano & Ponticelli, 1981)
Status:
Native
ID Difficulty
Identification
Members of the Lekanesphaera genus are pill isopods, the identification of which is somewhat more complicated than indicated in Naylor & Brandt (2015) and Hayward & Ryland (2017), not least because Naylor & Brandt do not include Lekanesphaera levii, whilst Hayward & Ryland leave out Lekanesphaera monodi. Although the patterning of tubercles on the pleotelson can be indicative of species, determination should be based on the patterning of setae on the first pereopod of mature specimens (Jacobs 1987).
The key identification features of L. levii are as follows:
- Pleotelson: smooth
- Uropods: serrated
- Ischium of the first pereopod: 50-60 smooth setae
- Merus of the first pereopod: 40-50 smooth setae
- Propodus of the first pereopod: 4 to 8 distodorsal setae
Males are up to 12.0mm, females up to 8.0mm.
Distribution and Habitat
Found in rock crevices and under stones between MTL and LWN, recorded patchily around southern and western British coasts.
References
Hayward, Peter & John Ryland. 2017. Handbook of the Marine Fauna of North-west Europe (2nd Edition). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Jacobs, B. J. M. 1987. A taxonomic review of the European, Mediterranean and NW. African species generally placed in Sphaeroma Bosc, 1802 (Isopoda: Flabellifera: Sphaeromatidae). Zoologische Verhandelingen 238, 3-71.
BRC code
639