Androniscus dentiger, the rosy woodlouse or pink woodlouse is a species of woodlouse found from the British Isles to North Africa.[3]
A. dentiger is a small woodlouse, at only 6 mm (¼ in) long, and is characteristically pink or orange in colour, with a yellow stripe along the midline of the dorsal surface,[4] which divides in two towards the animal's tail. It has large eyes for its size and a granular exoskeleton.[5]
In the British Isles, A. dentiger is found in a wide variety of habitats, including coastal areas, gardens, old quarries[4] and caves.[6] It lives where there is a significant amount of lime available, and is reported to show a preference for Anglican churchyards over Catholic ones because the older, Protestant churches used ox-blood mortar.[7]
In the south of its range, A. dentiger is primarily troglobitic, with populations in different cave systems being genetically isolated by the lack of migration between caves.[8] Animals like A. dentiger which prefer to live in caves, but are not restricted to the cave environment may be termed troglophilic.[9]
In North America, A. dentiger is only known to occur in greenhouses.[2]
According to some authors, A. dentiger may be considered a complex of sibling species or cryptic species .[3] Six subspecies are recognised:[1]
Androniscus dentiger, the rosy woodlouse or pink woodlouse is a species of woodlouse found from the British Isles to North Africa.
