Seagrass Gribble

Lynseia himantopoda

Systematics: Isopoda Family Limnoriidae

Distinguishing Characters:
The body is cylindrical and no more than 3 mm long. Six pairs of legs are very short but the seventh are much longer. The abdomen is about one-third of the body length.

Habitat and Distribution:
The seagrass gribble bores a burrow in the blades of seagrass in sheltered bays. This species ranges from Victoria to Western Australia.

General Biology:
Gribble behave like termites or leaf miners on land, boring into plant material. The seagrass gribble makes a gallery of burrows through blades of seagrasses, eating their soft internal tissues. More diverse are the wood gribbles which also live in burrows but this time in logs, wharf piles and wooden boats. Gribble can be a serious pest in these man-made structures causing them ultimately to collapse. Gribble are able to digest wood with the enzyme cellulase produced by microorganisms hosted in their guts in much the same way as cows are able to digest grass!