Another Oniscidea

[Jacqueline Burrell]

This is a local Egyptian Oniscidea and lurks under the flowers pots and the cat's litter tray!

[goosey]

Originally Posted by Jacqueline Burrell

This is a local Egyptian Oniscidea and lurks under the flowers pots and the cat's litter tray!

Nothing to do with Oniscidea !

Just a question about cats seeing as you mentioned them .
Are cats still revered in Egypt or was it just in the ancient history and when the Pharoahs ruled?

[Pudding4brains]

Hi Ladies,

OMG, now I wish I could gracefully divert to cats too Got me cornered here Jacqueline

It's certainly family Armadillidiidae (note: not family Armadillidae - another source of easy spelling confusion). Both families are well represented in the area and all species roll up into a ball in defense or to prevent dessication.

Armadillidae are best known for the species Armadillo officinalis (seen here) and are easily recognized by a mostly "flat face" and square-isch tail end (telson). Armadillidiidae are best known for the wide spread Armadillidium vulgaris (here) and have a triangular "nose" in their "face" and more triangular telson (as seen in your images).

"Slight" problem: The Armadillidiidae have their base of origin around the Mediterranean and even the genus Armadillidium alone (which I suspect this is) has some 200 species in the greater area, most of which I have never seen and have hardly any documentation for.

The 200 is a bit daunting, and I'm sure if I take the time and puzzle through the World Catalogue I can cut it back to maybe 10-50 species one should consider for Egypt, but even if so I would probably need some more info and slightly better shots of ID-ing details.

So ...

• What is the size of these, and are there any larger ones around that you see regularily - these seem to be possibly young-ish
• Where about in Egypt is this? And is it cosmopolitan or rural? How dry?
• Could you get bigger/better images of:
  • The head area - especially of the shape of the "nose", the eyes and the ridges between nose and eyes.
  • Antennae - especially the tip (flagellum) of the antenna that allows seeing relative lenght of the two segments
  • Side of the first tergite (back plate) allowing clear viewing of the angle/curve the tip makes where it is pulled backward and/or the bottom ridge of the plate, especially near the hind corner allowing to see if it is "split" or not (I suspect not, but would be good to check)
  • A clear head-on (well, tail-on actually) shot of the tail end allowing to view the exact shape of the triangular terminal plate (telson) and the little plates to the sides of it (uropods)
  • Another possibly helpful shot, if it happens to be a male, would be a ventral (belly side) shot of the abdomen, but it would require much detail and good focus - but it's worth a try

I realize that is asking for quite something, but as you say these are commonly found you may be able to round up a few nice big ones (adults) and invite them for a photo session. Especially when they're rolled up a shot into the opening cleft will usually give good detail of both the head and the tail all in on

Have a look at these for an impression of "good angles":


Cheers, Arp

[Jacqueline Burrell]

Originally Posted by goosey

Nothing to do with Oniscidea !

Just a question about cats seeing as you mentioned them .
Are cats still revered in Egypt or was it just in the ancient history and when the Pharoahs ruled?

I'll give you a full answer once I have found some good pictures of the Egyptian Mau, which is reputedly the most intelligent cat in the world.

Cheers

[Jacqueline Burrell]

• What is the size of these, and are there any larger ones around that you see regularly - these seem to be possibly young-ish

This one was just over a centimeter and I have seen larger ones.
• Where about in Egypt is this? And is it cosmopolitan or rural? How dry?

I live in an area of Cairo with thousands of tree and a lot of green areas. The humidity averages about 40 percent and it very seldom rains, there can be a two year gap between showers.

I normally find them on one of our terraces which has loads of pot plants and the granite flooring is usually moist as the plants need to be watered two or three times a week at this time of the year and twice a day during the summer.

• Could you get bigger/better images of:

Yes, when I find some. I looked this afternoon with success.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction re. photo angles.

[Jacqueline Burrell]

I forgot to mention that Cairo is about 150 kilometres south of the Mediterranean Sea as the crow flies.

Cheers