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Saduria entomon





Distribution
Distribution in scandinavian waters

Maximum length: The male can be up to 8,6cm long, while the female is somewhat shorter.
Appearance: The body has an oval shape with a length that is roughly 2,5-3 times its width. The anal plate is drawn out to a point. Has a grey-brown colour. In contrast to the Baltic isopod, Saduria entomon has small eyes on top of the head and notches on both sides.
Depth: From sea level and to a depth of 290m.
Environment: Saduria entomon lives on and in varying types of bottoms, e.g. sand, gravel, mud and clay. It also has the ability to swim upwards a bit.
Misc: Saduria entomon is a predator and eats amphipods such as Monoporeia affinis and mussels such as Baltic macomas , aswell as freshwater lice and chironomidae larvae. It also eats carrion and has been shown to be a cannibal, which eats other individuals of the same species. Saduria itself is also preyed upon by fish such as cod and the short-horned sculpin. Because saduria is relatively stationary and is senstive to lack of oxygen, it is used as an indicator of the environmental state in the Gulf of Bothnia.
      It is believed that saduria wandered into the Baltic area from the Barents Sea for more than 7000 years ago at the end of the last ice age. Because they are found in many places in the Arctic, the population in the Baltic is known as an ice age relic.
      Along the coast of Norrland, saduria causes problems for fishermen as it attacks netted herring.
Classification: Saduria is a member of the lice group, which is a crustacean under the arthropods.


Saduria entomon       Other names 


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Bo Johannesson | Martin Larsvik | Lars-Ove Loo | Helena Samuelsson