Isopoda is an order of crustaceans. Members of this group are called Isopods and include both terrestrial and aquatic species such as woodlice. All have rigid, segmented exoskeletons, two pairs of antennae, seven pairs of jointed limbs on the thorax, and five pairs of branching appendages on the abdomen that are used in respiration. Females brood their young in a pouch under their thorax.
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.
Philosciidae are a family of woodlice. They occur almost everywhere on earth, with most species found in (sub)tropical America, Africa and Oceania, and only a few in the Holarctic.
A 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.
Trichoniscus pusillus, sometimes called the common pygmy woodlouse, is one of the five most common species of woodlice in the British Isles. It is acknowledged to be the most abundant terrestrial isopod in Britain. It is found commonly across Europe north of the Alps, and has been introduced to Madeira, the Azores and North America.
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, not including insects which are now known to be crustaceans pancrustacea". 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.
Reductoniscus costulatus is a species of woodlouse in the family Armadillidae. In the wild, R. costulatus has been found in Mauritius, the Seychelles and Hawaii, including the islands of Oʻahu and Kauaʻi and Hawaiʻi. It was discovered in the Palm House at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in 1948, 1976 and 1988, and has been found in greenhouses across Europe.
Agnaridae is a family of woodlice. They were formerly considered part of the Trachelipodidae, but were moved from that family to Porcellionidae in 1989, and then placed as a separate family in 2003.
Ligia is a genus of isopods, commonly known as rock lice or sea slaters. Most Ligia species live in tidal zone cliffs and rocky beaches, but there are several fully terrestrial species which occur in high-humidity environments.
Mesoniscus is a genus of woodlice, placed in its own family, Mesoniscidae, and section, Microcheta. It contains two species – Mesoniscus alpicolus and Mesoniscus graniger – that live in Central and Eastern Europe, mostly in and around caves.
Armadillidae is a family of woodlice, comprising around 80 genera and 700 species. It is the largest family of Oniscidea, and one of the most species-rich families of the entire Isopoda. Most of the armadillidae taxa are not monophyletic. Armadillids generally have a strongly convex body shape, with some rather shallowly convex. Like members of the woodlice family Armadillidiidae, armadillids are capable of enrolling into a sphere (conglobation), and are commonly known as pill bugs. Some species, however, have secondarily lost their conglobation ability. For example, a species exist in which the males lack the inner face of the coxal plates and are therefore unable to conglobate. Armadillids differ from the Armadillidiidae in that the antennae are fully enclosed within the sphere.
Cylisticidae is a family of woodlice in the order Isopoda. There are at least 4 genera and more than 60 described species in Cylisticidae.
Pudeoniscidae is a family of malacostracans in the order Isopoda.
Helleria brevicornis, the sole species of the monotypic genus Helleria, is a terrestrial woodlouse endemic to the islands and coastal regions of the northern Tyrrhenian sea. H. brevicornis is of interest due to its endemism, unique ecology and basal position in the suborder Oniscidea.
Alpioniscus is a southern European genus of woodlice in the family Trichoniscidae. Alpioniscus consists of two subgenera: Alpioniscus s.s. and Illyrionethes. A 2019 study used molecular and taxonomic analyses to verify the validity of the current taxonomy, resulting in the redescription of several species and the description of two new species.
Styloniscus manuvaka is a species of terrestrial isopod endemic to the islands of Rapa Nui and Rapa Iti. Its name is an epithet in the Rapa Nui language that translates roughly to "Canoe Bug". The name references the Canoe Bug Hypothesis which holds this species colonized these islands alongside ancient Polynesians via transplanted "Canoe Plants" such as banana, taro, and breadfruit. While this species is presently known only by relict populations in caves on Rapa Nui, its status on Rapa Iti is unknown. Another "Canoe Bug", Hawaiioscia rapui, is the only other terrestrial isopod species native to Rapa Nui.
Hawaiioscia rapui is a species of terrestrial isopod endemic to the islands of Rapa Nui and Motu Motiro Hiva in the South Pacific Ocean. The animal's current range is collectively known as the Rapa Nui Marine Protected Area. The epithet, "rapui", honors Sergio Rapu Haoa, a humanitarian, archaeologist, anthropologist, and politician of Rapanui descent. This species was initially considered a relict species known only to Rapa Nui caves. Specimens collected in 2016 revealed it also occurs in littoral habitats on the north shore of Rapa Nui and on Motu Motiro Hiva, a small uninhabited island 414 km east by northeast of Rapa Nui. Given the range extension into littoral areas, this isopod is considered a halophilic species. Although determining how this animal dispersed between Rapa Nui and Motu Mitiro Hiva will require additional research, it is tentatively considered a "Canoe Bug". This name is derived from the Canoe Bug Hypothesis which holds this species colonized these islands alongside ancient Polynesians via transplanted "Canoe Plants" such as banana, taro, and breadfruit. Styloniscus manuvaka, another "Canoe Bug", is the only other native isopod species known to Rapa Nui.
Hawaiioscia nicoyaensis is a species of woodlouse from Costa Rica. Its specific epithet is derived from the location of its type locality along the Gulf of Nicoya. It is the only known member of its genus to be found on a continent rather than a pacific island and the only one to be littoral halophilic. Furthermore, it is the only extant member of its genus not to be restricted to caves.
Eluma is a genus of woodlice in the family Armadillidiidae. The members of this genus are native to the Iberian Peninsula, Morocco, the Atlantic islands of the Azores, Canaries and Madeira, and from the west of France to the British Isles.
Trichorhina anophthalma is a species of woodlouse distributed throughout southern Spain and Portugal.
