Armadillidium depressum

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Armadillidium depressum
Giving me a trilobite stare (752924951).jpg
Armadillidium depressum specimen photographed in Oxford, UK.
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Superorder: Peracarida
Order: Isopoda
Suborder: Oniscidea
Family: Armadillidiidae
Genus: Armadillidium
Species:
A. depressum
Binomial name
Armadillidium depressum
Brandt, 1833  [1]
Range of Armadillidium depressum.png
Range [2] [3]
Synonyms   [4]

Armadillidium gerstaeckeriArmadillidium virescens

Armadillidium depressum, the southern pill woodlouse [5] is a large, relatively common British species of woodlouse characterized by its "splayed" appearance.

Contents

Description

Armadillidium depressum may reach a length of 20 millimetres (0.71 in) compared to 18 millimetres for Armadillidium vulgare , and is capable of rolling into a ball when disturbed. Like Armadillidium nasatum , it can be distinguished from Armadillidium vulgare by the gap it leaves when enrolled, instead of completely enclosing. [2] [6] Another distinguishing feature is that its pleon curve outwards, causing a splayed appearance. Otherwise, the appearance of A. depressum is very similar to A. vulgare in dark grey to black color. [2] [5]

Armadillidium depressum maximum length is 20 millimetres, compared to A. vulgare 18 millimetres. [2]

Ecology

Like other woodlice, Armadillidium depressum feeds on dead plant matter, and lives for 3 years. [5] A. depressum can be seen all year long. [5]

Distribution

The majority of specimens of Armadillidium depressum are concentrated in southwest Britain, near the English Channel, but small populations also occur in various towns scattered throughout England. [2] It is a synanthropic species, living on walls and under stones in towns and old houses. [2] [5] C

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<i>Armadillidium</i> Genus of woodlice

Armadillidium is a genus of the small terrestrial crustacean known as the woodlouse. Armadillidium are also commonly known as pill woodlice, leg pebbles, pill bugs, roly-poly, or potato bugs, and are often confused with pill millipedes such as Glomeris marginata. They are characterised by their ability to roll into a ball ("volvation") when disturbed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armadillidiidae</span> Family of woodlice, a terrestrial crustacean group in the order Isopoda

Armadillidiidae is a family of woodlice, a terrestrial crustacean group in the order Isopoda. Unlike members of some other woodlice families, members of this family can roll into a ball, an ability they share with the outwardly similar but unrelated pill millipedes and other animals. This ability gives woodlice in this family their common names of pill bugs or roly polies. Other common names include slaters, potato bugs, butchy boys, and doodle bugs. Most species are native to the Mediterranean Basin, while a few species have wider European distributions. The best-known species, Armadillidium vulgare, was introduced to New England in the early 19th century and has become widespread throughout North America.

<i>Armadillidium vulgare</i> Species of woodlouse

Armadillidium vulgare, the common pill-bug, potato bug, common pill woodlouse, roly-poly, slater, doodle bug, or carpenter, is a widespread European species of woodlouse. It is the most extensively investigated terrestrial isopod species. It is native to Mediterranean Europe but has accompanied humans throughout their travels and now are found, naturalized in almost all suitable ecosystems. They are kept as pets by hobbyists for their wide range of possible color variations.

<i>Porcellio scaber</i> Species of woodlouse

Porcellio scaber, is a species of woodlouse native to Europe but with a cosmopolitan distribution. They are often found in large numbers in most regions, with many species preying on them.

<i>Glomeris marginata</i> Species of millipede

Glomeris marginata is a common European species of pill millipede. It is a short millipede, rounded in cross-section, which is capable of rolling itself up into a ball ("volvation") when disturbed. This behaviour is also found in the pill woodlouse Armadillidium, with which G. marginata is often confused.

<i>Porcellio laevis</i> Species of woodlouse

Porcellio laevis is a species of woodlouse in the genus Porcellio. As the species epithet laevis as well as the vernacular name "swift woodlouse" suggests, the species is capable of quick bursts of speed when provoked.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodlouse</span> Crustacean from the polyphyletic suborder Oniscidea

woodlouse is any crustacean belonging to the suborder Oniscidea within the order Isopoda. They get their name from often being found in old wood, and from louse, a parasitic insect, although woodlice are neither parasitic nor insects.

<i>Armadillidium pictum</i> Species of woodlouse

Armadillidium pictum is a species of woodlouse which occurs over most of Europe, except the Mediterranean Basin and Southeast Europe. In the British Isles, it is only known from a few sites, making it by some accounts, "Britain's rarest woodlouse". Since these sites are all remote from human habitation, in Cumbria and Powys, the species is thought to be native rather than introduced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sphaerotheriida</span> Order of millipedes

Sphaerotheriida is an order of millipedes in the infraclass Pentazonia, sometimes known as giant pill millipedes. They inhabit Southern Africa, Madagascar, South and Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Like the Northern Hemisphere pill millipedes of the order Glomerida, these millipedes can roll into a ball when disturbed. When they are rolled-up, most sphaerotheriidans reach a maximum size of a cherry or golf ball, but some species from Madagascar can even reach the size of an orange. When rolled-up, predators are unable to unravel giant pill millipedes since the margins of their second and last dorsal plates fit perfectly into one another, creating a sealed ball. A few giant pill millipede species are able to produce sound, the only millipedes known to do this. This order of millipedes is also unique in that some African species are used for medicinal purposes.

<i>Hemilepistus reaumuri</i> Species of woodlouse

Hemilepistus reaumuri is a species of woodlouse that lives in and around the deserts of North Africa and the Middle East, "the driest habitat conquered by any species of crustacean". It reaches a length of 22 mm (0.87 in) and a width of up to 12 mm (0.47 in), and has seven pairs of legs which hold its body unusually high off the ground. The species was described in the Description de l'Égypte after the French Campaign in Egypt and Syria of 1798–1801, but was first formally named by Henri Milne-Edwards in 1840 as Porcellio reaumuri. It reached its current scientific name in 1930 after the former subgenus Hemilepistus was raised to the rank of genus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Platyarthrus hoffmannseggii</span> Species of woodlouse

Platyarthrus hoffmannseggii is a species of woodlouse which is closely associated with ants' nests, particularly those of Lasius flavus, Lasius niger and species of Myrmica, where it feeds on ant droppings or mildew. It is white, 4 millimetres (0.16 in) long, and has a distinctive oval shape and short antennae. Its distribution appears to follow those of the ants with which it lives, and the British Isles are the north-westerly limit of its range. Elsewhere, P. hoffmannseggii extends south to the Mediterranean Sea. It is found outside Europe in North Africa and Turkey, and has been introduced to Australia and North America.

<i>Porcellio dilatatus</i> Species of woodlouse

Porcellio dilatatus is a species of woodlouse in the genus Porcellio belonging to the family Porcellionidae. This species is widespread in Europe, and has also been introduced to North America from Western Europe. They are 15 millimetres (0.59 in) long, are brown coloured and striped. They can be found feeding on alder leaves, but mostly feeds on organic food substrates, such as lettuce in the wild. It also feeds on inorganic metal salts.

<i>Armadillidium klugii</i> Species of woodlouse

Armadillidium klugii is a lesser-known, rare Balkan, Dalmatia-based species of woodlouse, most distinguished by its colouration which resembles the red markings of the Mediterranean black widow Latrodectus tredecimguttatus. This is probably a kind of mimicry, to ward off predators that mistake the harmless animal for a venomous spider.

<i>Armadillidium nasatum</i> Species of woodlouse

Armadillidium nasatum, the nosy pill woodlouse, is a large, Western European-based species of woodlouse that has been introduced to North America, along with Armadillidium vulgare also found in other parts of Europe.

<i>Armadillidium phalacronum</i> Species of crustacean

Armadillidium phalacronum is a European species of woodlouse endemic to Greece. It is a relatively small-sized species that probably belongs to the so-called "Armadillidium insulanum complex".

<i>Porcellio hoffmannseggii</i> Species of woodlouse

Porcellio hoffmannseggii, commonly called the titan isopod, is a species of woodlouse of the genus Porcellio described in 1833. This very large species is native to the southern Iberian Peninsula, Morocco and the Balearic Islands.

<i>Armadillidium maculatum</i> Species of woodlouse

Armadillidium maculatum, also known as the zebra isopod or zebra pillbug is an Armadillidium species of woodlouse, named for its black and white patterns. It is native to southern France.

<i>Glomeris tetrasticha</i> Species of millipede.

Glomeris tetrasticha, is a species of pill millipede within the genus Glomeris and family Glomeridae.

<i>Armadillidium album</i> Species of woodlouse

Armadillidium album, also known as the beach pill woodlouse, is a species of isopod within the family Armadillidiidae. The species is salt tolerant, inhabiting coastal sand dunes and saltmarshes within Europe. They can sometimes be found under driftwood or burrowed within grains of sand of which their colour pattern mimics.

References

  1. "Armadillidium depressum Brandt, 1833". Integrated Taxonomic Information System . Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Armadillidium depressum Brandt, 1833
  3. "Discover | Natural History Museum". Archived from the original on 3 August 2012.
  4. Helmut Schmalfuss (2003). "World catalog of terrestrial isopods (Isopoda: Oniscidea) — revised and updated version" (PDF). Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde, Serie A. 654: 341 pp. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-02-24. Retrieved 2015-08-02.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Southern Pill Woodlouse
  6. "Armadillidium depressum".