| Geographic Range |
it lives well on Mediterranean and eastern-Atlantic
coasts. |
| Physical Characteristics |
oval body, flattened on the back and on the
belly; it is about 12 millimeters long. It is a crustacean lacking of the
calcareous carapace. It bears two big and sessile eyes, two pairs of long
articulated antennas, one longer than the other, which reach one third of
the total length of the body and five mouth processes. The first segment
of the thorax is joined to the head. The thorax bears six abdominal processes:
the first pair is transformed into jaws, while the others are used for walking.
The abdomen bears processes or pleopods: the first 5 pairs work as gills,
while the sixth bears two long symmetrical uropods. The telson is at the
end of the abdomen. The ligia is dark brown with grey or greenish spots.
|
| Notes |
it is common in the supralittoral zone of
the sandy and rocky coasts; it always remains over the sea level. It is
characterised mainly by diurnal activity; it moves on rocks and swims in
the water, although it doesn't easily tolerates plunging. Breathing is branchial.
Sexes are separated: eggs are incubated in a hollow formed from plates located
on the thorax processes of the female. The larvae come out from the eggs
which, after several moults, turn into adults. |
| Habitat |
it lives on the rocks and in the gorges of
the supralittoral zone. It leaves that zone in order to look for food. |
| Food habits |
it is detrivorous; it feeds mainly on vegetable
remains or on any other kind of organic material. |
Ligia
italica
