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 Crustacean from Baltic Shore turns to be beetle larva
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| Sundew |
Posted on 16-09-2007 00:23
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 Member Location: Berlin and Baden-Württemberg, Germany Posts: 3917 Joined: 28.07.07 |
Hello, Last year (5 Sept. 2006) I came across a big black isopod Crustacean (at least I thought it was one) at the peninsula Boiensdorfer Werder, N Germany. It crawled on the wet soil close to the water. I had never seen a specimen with such a tapering end. Is there anyone who knows a name for this woodlouse? Sundew attached the following image:  [189.36Kb] Edited by Sundew on 16-09-2007 23:32 |
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| Tony Irwin |
Posted on 16-09-2007 21:09
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 Member Location: Norwich, England Posts: 7284 Joined: 19.11.04 |
It's actually a beetle larva - one of the Silphidae, probably a Silpha species. - It does look very like a woodlouse, though! 
Tony ---------- Tony Irwin |
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| Sundew |
Posted on 16-09-2007 23:30
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Member Location: Berlin and Baden-Württemberg, Germany Posts: 3917 Joined: 28.07.07 |
Dear Tony, This sounds very convincing. Next time I shall turn such animals upside down to count the legs. However, I had already slight doubts about a crustaceous nature because of the tapering abdomen with cerci. Well - you live and learn. Many thanks, Sundew |
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| Isidro |
Posted on 17-09-2007 07:03
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Member Location: Zaragoza, Spain Posts: 2087 Joined: 26.04.07 |
Sundew wrote:I had already slight doubts about a crustaceous nature because of the tapering abdomen with cerci.  only the crustaceas have cerci????? and the mayflies, dragonflies, stoneflies, grashoppers, mantids, cockroaches, etc...??? I know than the adult beetles don't have cerci, but maybe the lavae yes. In any case, this is WITHOUT ANY DOUBT a larvae of Silphidae and very very probably Silpha sp. I had two generations of Silpha tristis in captuvity. |
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| Sundew |
Posted on 17-09-2007 18:23
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Member Location: Berlin and Baden-Württemberg, Germany Posts: 3917 Joined: 28.07.07 |
Dear Isidro, you misunderstood me. I always thought that the Crustaceans have NO such cerci, whereas all the insects you mention are fitted with them; therefore I was not sure if my animal would really belong to the former group. As we see, this doubt was justified. Meanwhile I googled some Silpha larvae and am fully convinced that my animal will become a carrion beetle - as it was from last year, this has surely happened already. Regards, Sundew |
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| Isidro |
Posted on 17-09-2007 18:42
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Member Location: Zaragoza, Spain Posts: 2087 Joined: 26.04.07 |
Oh sorry, my english is bad i I mistaked your words...  Here you can see a pair of larvae of Silpha tristis borned in captivity from a female that I caught...  |
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| Sundew |
Posted on 17-09-2007 21:37
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Member Location: Berlin and Baden-Württemberg, Germany Posts: 3917 Joined: 28.07.07 |
Nice pets indeed! Segment number is also identical. However, yours are fatter than mine (or broader, at least.) Mine is more streamlined and thus looks smarter... Obviously not S. tristis.Thanks for presenting your informative photo, Sundew |
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| Tony Irwin |
Posted on 17-09-2007 23:11
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Member Location: Norwich, England Posts: 7284 Joined: 19.11.04 |
Sundew wrote: I always thought that the Crustaceans have NO such cerci, Well, isopod crustaceans do have cerci of a sort - some of them are very very short, as in Armadilidium, but they can be very long, as Gabor's excellent picture of Ligia italica shows - see http://xespok.net...4.jpg.html The cerci-like structures are called uropods. Edited by Tony Irwin on 17-09-2007 23:11 Tony ---------- Tony Irwin |
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| Sundew |
Posted on 17-09-2007 23:40
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Member Location: Berlin and Baden-Württemberg, Germany Posts: 3917 Joined: 28.07.07 |
Wow - this forum is really great! I am gaining knowledge in the twinkling of an eye. If I could only reciprocate, but my botanical area of specialization would really go beyond the scope of our forum (though flower/pollinator interactions are very interesting stuff!) Thanks again, Tony. Sundew |
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| Isidro |
Posted on 18-09-2007 06:25
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Member Location: Zaragoza, Spain Posts: 2087 Joined: 26.04.07 |
Sundew wrote:However, yours are fatter than mine (or broader, at least.) Mine is more streamlined and thus looks smarter... The mines are more young. The shape is the same. But my larvae have clear spots in the board of the segments, for this reason your larva is not S. tristis... there are many Silpha species and is difficult differenciate it, I identified my beetle with keys forn the species on my region... After I saw a dead larva taht probably belongs to S. tyrolensis... |
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| Sundew |
Posted on 18-09-2007 10:57
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Member Location: Berlin and Baden-Württemberg, Germany Posts: 3917 Joined: 28.07.07 |
Well, friends, let's close this thread now. The most important things are said, and I've learned a lot that I shall never forget. My next confusions will concern other animals  ...Thanks for all discussion, Sundew |
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