Androniscus dentiger
species of crustacean
Androniscus dentiger, the rosy woodlouse or pink woodlouse, is a species of woodlouse found from the British Isles to North Africa.
Description
Androniscus dentiger is a small woodlouse, at only 6 mm (¼ in) long, and is characteristically pink or orange in colour, with a yellow stripe along the midline of the dorsal surface, which divides in two towards the animal's tail. It has large eyes for its size and a granular exoskeleton.
Ecology
In the British Isles, A. dentiger is found in a wide variety of habitats, including coastal areas, gardens, old quarries and caves. It lives where there is a significant amount of lime available, and is reported to show a preference for Anglican churchyards over Catholic ones because the older, Protestant churches used ox-blood mortar.
In the south of its range, A. dentiger is primarily troglobitic, with populations in different cave systems being genetically isolated by the lack of migration between caves. Animals like A. dentiger which prefer to live in caves, but are not restricted to the cave environment may be termed troglophilic.
In North America, A. dentiger is only known to occur in greenhouses.
Subspecies
According to some authors, A. dentiger may be considered a complex of sibling species or cryptic species .
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Androniscus dentiger” as species of crustacean. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as species of crustacean. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1646499. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
Scientific names, classifications and consensus can change while older terminology persists in catalogues and historical literature. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.
- Current terminology
- Classification context
- Finding cited technical literature
Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Androniscus dentiger”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Androniscus dentiger primary sources, Androniscus dentiger archive and Androniscus research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Androniscus dentiger”?
- Is the terminology current, historical or disputed?
- Which observation, specimen, dataset or publication supports the account?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Androniscus dentiger” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.