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| sea slaters text index | photo index |
| Phylum Arthropoda > Subphylum Crustacea > Class Malacostraca > Order Isopoda |
| Sea
slaters Ligia sp. Family Ligiidae updated Oct 10
Where seen? These nervous little animals are commonly seen on almost all our shores, often swarming in large numbers at low tide. They are common on rocky shores, also among mangroves. What are sea slaters? Sea slaters are sometimes called sea cockroaches. Although sea slaters are also arthropods, they are not insects! They are crustaceans like crabs and prawns; but are very happy out of water. Features: 2-7cm. Sea slaters have seven pairs of legs and move very fast! They have huge eyes and very long antennae. They are well adapted for life out of water, breathing air directly through 'pseudo-lungs'. In fact, they will drown if kept under water! What do they eat? Sea slaters are scavengers, nibbling on whatever recently died on the rocky shore. At low tide, they swarm over the rocks and shore looking for the recent dead. |
 On a mangrove tree trunk, a slater party? Kranji, Jun 06  ...with hanky panky going on? |
They are NOT insects! They are more like crabs.
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 Empty skin left behind after a moult? Sisters Island, Jul 06 |
 Body very flat. Labrador, May 09 |
Sea slaters on Singapore shores
 Sentosa, Oct 04 |
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 Chek Jawa, Jan 05 |
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 East Coast, Aug 09 |
 Feeding on recently destroyed barnacles? |
more photos of sea slaters on Singapore shores
northern shores | southern shores
Links
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Brooks/Cole of Thomson Learning Inc., 7th Edition. pp. 963.|
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