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NATURE & GASTRONOMY

 

 

 

  Sea Roach

 

Thailand

A Sea Roach, known in Thais as malaeng saab thalae, which literally means ‘sea cockroach’, is  a kind of Sea Slater, i.e. woodlouse-like isopod, with the binomial name Ligia exotica.

 

It lives on rocky coasts, just above the water and 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.

 

  Sea Roach

 

  Sea Roach

 

It has a flattened body, with a segmented exoskeleton, that serves as an armour, akin to crustaceans.  It 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.

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