Links

Excirolana chiltoni
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Malacostraca
Order:	Isopoda
Family:	Cirolanidae
Genus:	Excirolana
Species:	E. chiltoni
Binomial name
	Excirolana chiltoni; (Richardson, 1905)
Synonyms
	Cirolana kincaidi Hatch, 1947 ; Excirolana kincaidi (Hatch, 1947) ;

Excirolana chiltoni, commonly known as "sand piranha", is a species of isopod in the family Cirolanidae.^[1]^[2]^[3] They are native to warm tropical/subtropical nearshore shallow waters of Pacific coasts, from Japan and Korea to South China in the west and from the Pacific Northwest to Chocó Colombia in the east, being commonly described as a "water-line isopod".^[4]

E. chiltoni grows to be around 8 mm (0.31 in) long and can form swarms of more than 1,000 individuals. They are scavengers/detritivores that spend most of their lives burrowed beneath the sandy beaches (i.e. arenicolous), and are most active during high tides. They feed on proteinaceous materials such as decaying carcasses of dead aquatic animals that are washed ashore, and can occasionally vigorously bite and chew on the skin of beachgoing humans and other animals.^[5]^[6]

References

^ "Excirolana chiltoni Species Information". BugGuide.net. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
^ "Excirolana chiltoni Report". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
^ "Excirolana chiltoni Overview". Encyclopedia of Life. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
^ "UVic affiliated biology webpage". Central Coast Biodiversity Website. Archived from the original on 4 September 2022. Retrieved 4 September 2022. in heading "Water-line isopod, scavenging isopod • Excirolana chiltoni, formerly E. kincaidi or Cirolana kincaidi"
^ "It Bit Me". 2 June 2014. Archived from the original on 7 September 2022. Retrieved 2018-09-06.
^ "California September 2022 isopod news story". Fox News. Archived from the original on 7 September 2022.