Caecidotea communis (Say, 1818)
Synonyms
Status
ID Difficulty
Identification
This is generally a larger species with a looser, more ‘floppy’, appearance than Asellus aquaticus or Proasellus meridianus (Harding and Collis, 2006). The shape of the male first pereopod is diagnostic.
Distribution and Habitat
It is introduced from North America and is only known from Bolam Lake in Northumberland, where it appears to occur at the exclusion of the typically ubiquitous Asellus aquaticus.
It generally occurs in clear water with a substrate of mud or fine gravel and large quantities of decaying leaves from trees and shrubs.
Reference
Harding, P.T. & Collis, G.M. (2006) Asellus communis in Northumberland. Bulletin of the British Myriapod & Isopod Group 21: 8-11