Trachelipus rathkii 01 - Trachelipus rathkii

Moved

Moved from Sowbugs.

… Lynette Schimming, 22 November, 2007 - 9:21am

T. rathkii

Hi! This one is a Trachelipus rathkii. It differs from O. asellus in many subtle details (No. of flagellae, overall bodyshape, shape of telson, coloration) that are visible in the nature.
The row of white spots on both sides is typical for T. rathkii.

Ferenc

… Ferenc Vilisics, 22 November, 2007 - 2:29am

Hi Ferenc

Interesting comment about subtle details and the row of white spots. I also see see these spots on Photo#84193

which has been moved to Oniscus asellus - what differentiates these two bugs?

… Ted Kropiewnicki, 22 November, 2007 - 10:36am

Ted, one important id mark

Ted,
one important id mark is the numbers of segments of the flagellae. This is the end part of the antenna, and in different groups (e.g. Diplochaeta, Synochaeta, Crinochaeta)of oniscids it usually differs: 5-10, 3 and 2 segments. Oniscus asellus has three while T. rathkii possesses two of these.

White dots occur in many different taxa, but - along with other traits - it clearly distinguishes T. rathkii from P. scaber, for example.
I hope I fulfilled your curiosity. :)

… Ferenc Vilisics, 16 February, 2008 - 4:44pm

More than just curiosity

Ferenc, I extracted from your posts a list of identification criteria and added them to T. rathkii species page. Thank you for your contributions!

… Ted Kropiewnicki, 16 February, 2008 - 6:27pm

Moved

to Sow Bugs for now, and the other image as well.

… Lynette Schimming, 25 October, 2007 - 9:16pm

Looks like

European Sow Bug (Oniscus asellus) but wait for an expert to confirm.
Also, is this the same individual as in previous photo (#143192)? If so, they may be linked together; click tag under each image then click link under both thumbnails that are shown on the left of screen.

… Ted Kropiewnicki, 5 September, 2007 - 11:59am

Re Photo

They are two separate individuals, so I did not link them. :)

… Karl Volkman, 5 September, 2007 - 12:27pm