Androniscus dentiger

Androniscus dentiger is a small woodlouse, at only 6 mm (¼ in) long, and is characteristically pink or orange in colour, with a yellow stripe along the midline of the dorsal surface,^[4] which divides in two towards the animal's tail. It has large eyes for its size and a granular exoskeleton.^[5]

In the British Isles, A. dentiger is found in a wide variety of habitats, including coastal areas, gardens, old quarries^[4] and caves.^[6] It lives where there is a significant amount of lime available, and is reported to show a preference for Anglican churchyards over Catholic ones because the older, Protestant churches used ox-blood mortar.^[7]

In the south of its range, A. dentiger is primarily troglobitic, with populations in different cave systems being genetically isolated by the lack of migration between caves.^[8] Animals like A. dentiger which prefer to live in caves, but are not restricted to the cave environment may be termed troglophilic.^[9]

In North America, A. dentiger is only known to occur in greenhouses.^[2]

According to some authors, A. dentiger may be considered a complex of sibling species or cryptic species .^[3] Six subspecies are recognised:^[1]

• Androniscus dentiger africanus Arcangeli, 1939
• Androniscus dentiger caecus Brian, 1938
• Androniscus dentiger calcivagus Verhoeff, 1908
• Androniscus dentiger croaticus Strouhal, 1939
• Androniscus dentiger dentiger Verhoeff, 1908
• Androniscus dentiger ligulifer Verhoeff, 1908

• List of woodlice of the British Isles