''Ligia platycephala'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

isopod Isopoda is an order of crustaceans that includes woodlice and their relatives. Isopods live in the sea, in fresh water, or on land. All have rigid, segmented exoskeletons, two pairs of antennae, seven pairs of jointed limbs on the thorax, an ...

from the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

Ligia ''Ligia'' is a genus of isopods, commonly known as rock lice or sea slaters. Most ''Ligia'' species live in tidal zone cliffs and rocky beaches, but there are several fully terrestrial species which occur in high-humidity environments. Ecolo ...

''.

Description

When seen from above, ''L. platycephala'' resembles ''L. exotica'', in the soft, weakly articulated body and the posteriorly narrowing outline at the back

tropics The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred ...

. However, the abdomen is proportionally smaller in ''Ligia platycephala''. Also, the ''L. platycephala'' is considerably smaller than ''L. exotica''. In the original description, the properties of this species are described by comparing to ''L. exotica''.

Taxonomy

The species was originally described by W.G. van Name in

1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the It ...

by its

basionym In the scientific name of organisms, basionym or basyonym means the original name on which a new name is based; the author citation of the new name should include the authors of the basionym in parentheses. The term "basionym" is used in both bota ...

''Ligyda platycephala''. It is part of the

''. The

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes the ...

is located at the American Museum of Natural History

Habitat

The habitat of this species is deadwood in damp forest.

Range

The species' descriptions position it in Guyana. Specimens have been collected in the jungle of Kartabo. More recent observations aggregated in the

Global Biodiversity Information Facility The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) is an international organisation that focuses on making scientific data on biodiversity available via the Internet using web services. The data are provided by many institutions from around ...

suggest that the species can also be found in

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, small ...

, and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in ...

References

* Fauna of Suriname Woodlice Taxa named by Willard G. Van Name Fauna of Guyana Fauna of Trinidad and Tobago Fauna of Venezuela {{Isopod-stub