Sea cockroaches

People often did not have enough words to give names to new species of aquatic inhabitants. So there were sea hares, lions, seals and leopards. A sea cockroach arose in the same way. None of the living organisms living in the water has anything to do with its terrestrial prototype - cockroach.

What is this organism

Sea cockroach is a bottom inhabitant of the northern waters of the World Ocean. It occurs in the Baltic Sea, where it is assigned the relict status of the ice age. It is found in large quantities in Ladoga and other large lakes in Northern Europe. Recently introduced by man to the Black Sea. Refers to benthic isopods, that is, higher cancers that live at the bottom of ponds. A relative of crayfish.

Description

Latin name Saduria entomon. Belongs to the class of higher crayfish to the group of isopods.

A water cockroach is often called trilobite. But, if you look at the photo of a sea cockroach, it becomes clear that it looks almost like a land wood louse. And this coincidence is not accidental. Mokritsa also belongs to the crustaceans of the isopods. These relatives differ in the back part: at a water cockroach the tail is elongated and pointed.

The size of the underwater cockroach is small: no more than 9 cm. In the Baltic Sea, the largest specimens are found at the bottom of the Gulf of Bothnia.

Interesting!

The largest sea cockroaches found by people were 10 cm long.

Although these isopods do not differ in gigantic size, they are officially recognized as the largest crustaceans of the Baltic Sea. Males are usually larger than females.

Isopod color can be:

• gray
• sand;
• light brown;
• beige.

The color of the marine animal depends on the color of the bottom on which it lives, and is camouflage.

Body structure

Body shape is a long drop. The water cockroach is covered with a shell, in addition to protection, performing the functions of the outer skeleton. The body is divided into 8 segments:

• cephalothorax;
• 6 segments of the back;
• the tail is the longest segment.

Arthropod paws are attached to the four dorsal segments.

The head of the higher crustacean is protected from the front-side by pointed plates. Between the plates are eyes and a short mustache. Below are the gills.

The dorsal segments below also end with pointed plates with spikes. Such high-quality protection allowed the animal to live unchanged since the last Ice Age, and maybe longer.

Lifestyle

Sea cockroach - a predatory animal that feeds on amphipods, small shrimps and shellfish. The basis of the arthropod diet is Monoporeia affinis.

But very soon, a predator can face the problem of hunger. Monoporeia affinis is sensitive to the oxygen content in water. Due to lower oxygen levels in the Baltic Sea, and especially in the Gulf of Finland, the population of Monoporeia affinis began to decline.

Interesting!

Saduria entomon can also feed on rotting plant debris and animal and fish carcasses.

Breeding

Sexual dimorphism in marine cockroaches is expressed in the fact that males become sexually mature at an older age than females and when they reach a large size.

The arthropod has a lifespan of 3 years. After breeding, crayfish die. According to unconfirmed reports, sea cockroaches are also able to breed several times.

Danger to humans

No. Even in a living state, a cockroach is not dangerous, provided there is no phobia in relation to crustaceans.

How to get canned

The resulting hype due to the ingestion of a water cockroach in a sprat in tomato sauce is connected precisely with the phobia. In canned food, marine arthropod appears to be in poorly processed catch. Usually it gets into canned food with small fish. You can also find it in freshly frozen fish stuff.

And in the nets, the highest cancer is when the bottom is trawled.

Can i eat

A sea cockroach is edible just like any other cancer. Just because of the small size it is difficult to find meat in it. But if suddenly the arthropod is in the purchased fish, you can simply throw it away.