New Marine Roly Poly Pillbug Species Discovered

Posted on May 27, 2015

Scientists have discovered a new species of marine roly poly pillbug. It was discovered during a Loyola Marymount University field trip for an invertebrate zoology lab course taught by NHM researcher Dean Pentcheff. The roly poly pillbug - also known as an isopod - was found on a rocky beach at the very southernmost tip of the city of Los Angeles.

Pentcheff says in a statement, "We discovered it clutching on for dear life to one of the five arms of a common sea star. As soon as we saw this bumpy little guy, we knew it was something special that the researchers at NHM had to see, but my class and I had no idea we were looking at a new species."

Pentcheff knew the little crustacean was an isopod but he needed help learning more about it. He handed the specimen off to world isopod experts Dr. Regina Wetzer, Associate Curator and Director of the Marine Biodiversity Center, and Adam Wall, Assistant Collections Manager for Crustacea at NHM. They used a scanning electron microscope to study it. The image above is a colorized scanning electron microscope image of the new species.

The scientists named the new species, Exosphaeroma pentcheffi, after its discoverer. A second pillbug species, originally collected 142 years ago, was also identified as a new species. The second species, found in a museum collection, was named Exosphaeroma paydenae in honor of Joan Payden, a passionate supporter of science at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

A research paper on the new isopod species can be found here in the journal, ZooKeys.



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