Woodlouse

True Wild Life | Woodlouse | The woodlouse is not an insect but a crustacean, that has 14 parts to its body, which gives the woodlouse the flexibility to be able to curl into a ball to protect itself from danger. This means that only the hard outer shell of the woodlouse is exposed. The woodlouse is found in dark, damp places in forests and jungles throughout the world. The woodlouse feeds on decaying leaf and plant matter on the forest floor, meaning that the woodlouse plays a vital role in the natural carbon dioxide cycle.

The woodlouse is generally about 1 cm long but many species in the tropics are triple that size, some are even bigger. The woodlouse has an average lifespan of around 2 years but some are known to get up to 4 years old. The woodlouse is the only species of crustacean to inhabit inland and not watery habitats. There are thought to be over 3,000 different species of woodlouse around the world.

The woodlouse is generally grey or brown in colour but the exact colour and size of the woodlouse is dependent on the woodlouse species and the area which the woodlouse inhabits. The woodlouse is found in nearly every environment in the world besides the polar regions and the arid desert. The woodlouse is a herbivorous animal and therefore only eats organic plant matter. The woodlouse rarely eats live plants and feeds on the decaying leaf and plant matter found on the forest floor such as leaves, rotting wood and fruits that fall from the trees above.

Due to the small size of the woodlouse and despite the fact that the woodlouse can attempt to protect itself by curling up into a ball, the woodlouse is preyed upon by a number of animals around the world. Toads, centipedes, spiders, millipedes and the occasional wasp are the main predators of the woodlouse. The female woodlouse lays around 24 eggs which she keeps inside a brood pouch. The woodlouse eggs hatch after an incubation period of just a few days exposing the woodlouse babies. Due to the fact that the baby woodlice take a number of months to fully develop, the mother woodlouse will often stay close to her young until they are adult woodlice.

Shrimp

True Wild Life | Shrimp | Shrimp are marine crustaceans that are found on the bottom of the water in nearly every environment around the world. Shrimps are generally tiny in size, with some species of shrimp being so small that many animals cannot see them. There are more than 2,000 different species of shrimp worldwide, all of which are invertebrates which means that shrimp do not have a backbone. Instead, shrimp have a hard exoskeleton (the shell of the shrimp) which is often transparent and colourless making shrimp difficult to see in the water.

The shrimp lives on the river beds and ocean floors around the world, filtering sand and particles in the water. Shrimp are known to stay in schools that contain numerous shrimp individuals, and are able to adapt easily to changes in water conditions. Shrimps are omnivorous animals and therefore ingest and variety of both plant and animal species. Shrimp mainly feed on algae and other plant particles along with tiny fish and plankton in the water. One species of shrimp is known to stun it's prey before eating it by making a loud noise with one of it's claws, that makes a snapping sound through the water.

Due to their small size and abundance, shrimp are naturally prey to numerous predators around the world both in the water and out. Shrimp are eaten by fish, crustaceans such as crabs, sea urchins, starfish, sea -birds such as puffins, whales, dolphins, sharks and humans and many other animal species as well. The female shrimp can lay up to a million eggs at once that only take a couple of weeks to hatch. The tiny shrimp become part of the plankton in the water until they are big enough to big hunting in groups for larger food particles.

The shrimp is very closely related to the prawn and the thing that makes the shrimp and prawn stand out from other species of crustacean is the fact that they are able to swim through the water and although shrimps and prawns are very closely related, there are differences between them. The main difference between a shrimp and a prawn is they have different gill structures. There are different interpretations all around the world as to which species is a shrimp and which is a prawn that are often based on size and the water type where they are found.

Prawn

True Wild Life | Prawn | Prawns are crustaceans similar in appearance to shrimps, but they can be distinguished by the gill structure which is branching in prawns and not in shrimp. The prawn is also related to the crab and the lobster.

Prawns are found in calmer waters were the prawns can nest in the water plants to lay their eggs. Like the shrimp, the prawn does tend to prefer the warmer waters in the tropics but some species of prawn are found in the Northern Hemisphere.

The prawn feeds by filtering nutritious particles out of the water flowing around the prawn, and the prawn is therefore often found on rocks or close to the sea floor.

Prawns are a common source of food for humans around the world, particularly in areas where the prawn exists naturally such as south east Asia.