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.
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 as an introduced species they have become naturalized in almost all suitable ecosystems. They are kept as pets by hobbyists for their wide range of possible color variations.
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.
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.
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.
Mermithidae is a family of nematode worms that are endoparasites in arthropods. As early as 1877, Mermithidae was listed as one of nine subdivisions of the Nematoidea. Mermithidae are confused with the horsehair worms of the phylum Nematomorpha that have a similar life history and appearance.
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.
Hyloniscus riparius is a species of woodlouse found in Central and Eastern Europe and subsequently introduced to North America. It is strongly associated with flood plains and can tolerate periods of up to eight weeks submerged under water. In North America, it was first found at St. John's, Newfoundland in 1951, and later in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and North Carolina.
Ligidium hypnorum is a species of woodlouse found across Europe and western Asia. It is a fast-moving, active species that rarely grows longer than 9 mm (0.35 in). It is dark and shiny, and is similar in appearance to the common species Philoscia muscorum, and also the rarer Oritoniscus flavus. In Great Britain, it was first discovered at Copthorne Common, Surrey, in 1873, and most later records are also from South East England. It is considered a good indicator species for ancient woodland.
Ligidium is a genus of woodlice. It contains about 46 species, six of which are probably taxonomic synonyms of Ligidium hypnorum or Ligidium germanicum. Of the remainder, eight species are found in North America, six in Japan, two in Taiwan, four in China, 12 in Turkey, the Caucasus, and Central Asia, and six in Greece.
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.
Porcellio spinicornis is a species of woodlouse in the family Porcellionidae. This species is widespread in Europe, and has also been introduced to North America. It has wide spiny frontal lateral lobes.
Porcellio siculoccidentalis is a species of woodlouse in the genus Porcellio, which is endemic to western Sicily.
Iridovirus is a genus of viruses in the family Iridoviridae. Insects serve as natural hosts. Currently, only two species are placed in this genus. Invertebrate iridescent virus 6 (IIV-6) was recognised as the type species until such a designation was abolished. IIV-6 is hosted by mosquitos and usually causes covert (inapparent) infection that reduces fitness. The remaining species Invertebrate iridescent virus 31 (IIV-31) is hosted by isopods and causes patent (apparent) infection characterised by blue to bluish-purple iridescence and a shortened lifespan.
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.
Armadillidium depressum, the southern pill woodlouse is a large, relatively common British species of woodlouse characterized by its "splayed" appearance.
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.
Betairidovirinae is a subfamily of viruses in the family Iridoviridae that was established in 2016. It is one of two subfamilies within this family, the other being Alphairdovirinae. Most species within the Betairidovirinae are hosted by invertebrates, whereas all species within the Alphairdovirinae are hosted by 'cold-blooded' vertebrates. As such, viruses in this subfamily may be called invertebrate iridescent viruses (IIVs) or invertebrate iridoviruses.
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.
