Hemilepistus schirasi

Hemilepistus schirasi
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Isopoda
Suborder: Oniscidea
Family: Agnaridae
Genus: Hemilepistus
Species:
H. schirasi
Binomial name
Hemilepistus schirasi
Lincoln, 1970[1]

Hemilepistus schirasi is a species of woodlouse that lives in and around the deserts of central and southern Iran.[2] It can be distinguished from other species of Hemilepistus in Iran by the pattern of tubercles on the head. H. schirasi has six large tubercles in a semicircle, and rows of three tubercles extending to the outside corners of the head; other species have more tubercles, in different arrangements.[2]

It burrows in flat regions with a round tumulus, creating them with a circular entrance and cylindrical shape. The burrows are 8-11 mm in diameter, with a mean length of 80 cm and a mean depth of 62.5 cm. The burrows themselves are dug at a slope of around 80-85%. The tumulus structure for their burrows are regular blocks, around 1.5 x 3.5 mm.[3]

References

  1. ^ R. J. Lincoln (1970). "A review of the species of Hemilepistus s. str. Budde-Lund, 1885 (Isopoda, Porcellionidae)". Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Zoology Series. 20 (4): 111–130.
  2. ^ a b Ghasem M. Kashani, Alireza Sari & Shidokht Hosseinie (Ostavani) (2010). "Terrestrial isopods of the subgenus Hemilepistus (Hemilepistus) Budde-Lund, 1879 (Isopoda: Oniscidea) from Iran" (PDF extract). Zootaxa. 2549: 54–68. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2549.1.3.
  3. ^ Dehgani, Rouhullah; Kamiabi, Fatemeh; Mohammadzadeh, Narges (Jan 2017). "Burrowing habits of two Arthropods; Odenthobutus doriae and Hemilepistus schirasi in desert of Isfahan, Iran". Journal of Entomological Research. 41 (2): 113. doi:10.5958/0974-4576.2017.00018.4. Retrieved 28 September 2025.