malaeng saab thalae (แมลงสาบทะเล)

Thai. ‘Musty sea insect’ or ‘sea cockroach’. Name for a kind of Sea Slater, i.e. woodlouse-like isopod, with the binomial name Ligia exotica, that lives on rocky coasts, just above the water. It grows to around 4 centimeters in length, with males being somewhat larger than females. They are generally dark grey in colour, often with brown flecks, while the appendages are pale brown. The head has two black, elongated and bulging eyes, and a pair of long antennae. It has a flattened body, with a segmented exoskeleton, that serves as an armour, akin to crustaceans. This isopod has seven pairs of legs, and on the posterior segment of its body armour, it has a pair of long, forked appendages, that are called uropods and are used in locomotion. This creature is also commonly known as Sea Roach and Wharf Roach. 回