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Jelly bean isopods and other pet pill bugs
boingboing.net • • science
Key Points:
- Jelly bean isopods are a rare color variety of pill bugs originating from a single colony on Saint Lucia, available in multiple colors and popular as pets among isopod enthusiasts.
- The rubber ducky isopod, discovered in Thailand in 2017, is a popular pet known for its yellow face resembling a rubber duck, with various bred varieties like blonde rubber ducky and blue pigeon available for purchase.
- Isopods are ancient crustaceans dating back about 325 million years, with over 10,000 species identified, ranging from tiny 0.3 mm to giant 20-inch deep-sea species, living both in oceans and on land.
- Unique biological traits of isopods include their ability to release waste as ammonia gas instead of urinating, drink water through leg grooves, and have copper-based blue blood, distinguishing them from insects.
- Some isopods exhibit remarkable survival abilities, such as a giant isopod at Japan’s Toba Aquarium that survived over five years without eating, and the tongue-eating louse, a parasitic isopod that replaces a fish’s tongue.
