''Ligidium enotahensis'' is a species of terrestrial

isopod Isopoda is an Order (biology), order of crustaceans. Members of this group are called isopods and include both Aquatic animal, aquatic species and Terrestrial animal, terrestrial species such as woodlice. All have rigid, segmented exoskeletons ...

in the family

Ligiidae Ligiidae is a family of woodlice, the only family in the infraorder Diplocheta. Its members are common on rocky shores, in similar habitats to those inhabited by species of the bristletail '' Petrobius'' and the crab '' Cyclograpsus''. The famil ...

, found in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It is only known from a single location in Towns County,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. The species name ''enotahensis'' refers to Enotah, the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

name for the mountain

Brasstown Bald Brasstown Bald is the highest point in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is located in the northeastern part of the state in the Blue Ridge Mountains on the border between Towns and Union counties south of the city of Hiawassee. The mountain is kn ...

, where the only specimens of ''Ligidium enotahensis'' have so far been collected. Its habitat consists of

mixed forest Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest is a temperate climate terrestrial habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature, with broadleaf tree ecoregions, and with conifer and broadleaf tree mixed coniferous forest ecoregions. These ...

leaf litter. ''Ligidium enotahensis'' can be distinguished from closely related species by the squarish tip on the male second

pleopod The anatomy of a decapod consists of 20 body segments grouped into two main body parts: the cephalothorax and the pleon (abdomen). Each segment – often called a somite – may possess one pair of appendages, although in various groups these m ...

endopodite The arthropod leg is a form of jointed appendage of arthropods, usually used for walking. Many of the terms used for arthropod leg segments (called podomeres) are of Latin origin, and may be confused with terms for bones: ''coxa'' (meaning hip, : ...

, without any projections or notches, and the very broad male first pleopod endopodite projection. The only known adult is long and wide.

References

Isopoda Arthropods of the United States Crustaceans described in 2025 {{Isopod-stub