Oniscidea
Sign in to saveWoodlice are terrestrial isopods in the suborder Oniscidea. Their name is derived from being often found in old wood, and from louse, a parasitic insect, although woodlice are neither parasitic nor insects. Other common names include slater, sow bug, and wood pig, common names varying widely by region.
AI overview
Oniscidea is a suborder of small terrestrial animals commonly known as woodlice, pill bugs, or slaters, which are often found in damp wood and soil despite their misleading name suggesting they are parasitic insects. These creatures are significant as common decomposers in ecosystems and serve as indicators of environmental conditions, though they remain largely misunderstood due to their insect-like appearance and association with decaying wood.
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Taxonomy · GBIF
GENUS
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumMollusca
- ClassGastropoda
- OrderLittorinimorpha
- FamilyCassidae
via GBIF · CC0
Article
18 sectionsContents
- Common names
- Taxonomy
- Description and life cycle
- Ecology
- Distribution
- Evolutionary history
- Pill bugs and pill millipedes
- Kinesis
- Relationship to humans
- As pests
- As food
- As bio-indicators
- As pets
- Morphs and species in the hobby
- See also
- References
- Further reading
- External links
Woodlice are terrestrial isopods in the suborder Oniscidea. Their name is derived from being often found in old wood, and from louse, a parasitic insect, although woodlice are neither parasitic nor insects. Other common names include slater, sow bug, and wood pig, common names varying widely by region.
Woodlice are suggested to have colonised land during the late Paleozoic based on molecular clock analysis, though the oldest known fossils are from the mid-Cretaceous period around 100 million years ago. This makes them unusual among the crustaceans, being one of the few lineages to have transitioned into a fully terrestrial environment.