i wanted to make my own dedicated thread and just realized it'd be easy to make one about critters i see and tell fun facts about them, so welcome to my creature thread.
first creature is!!
![[Image: original.jpeg]](https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/381911865/original.jpeg)
this weird guy!!
Now the most prominent organism in this photo is the pill bug (Armidillidium vulgare) but you may be wondering why he ourple.
the answer is that he has a virus.
invertebrate iridescent virus 31, or isopod iridovirus, is a virus that affects isopods (suborder Oniscidea). there is also an invertebrate iridescent virus 6 that affects mosquitos but it doesnt have any visual affect.
isopod iridovirus makes the isopod blue/purple because of the way light bounces off the actual virus particles in the tissue of the isopod!
its basically a virus that does this
![[Image: What_if_it_was_Purple__0-15_screenshot.jpg]](https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/facebook/000/031/925/What_if_it_was_Purple__0-15_screenshot.jpg){kind=icon}
and then makes isopods die
fucked up and cool!