Woodlouse

Common names for woodlice vary throughout the English-speaking world. A number of common names make reference to the fact that some species of woodlice can roll up into a ball. Other names compare the woodlouse to a pig. The collective noun is a quabble of woodlice.{{Citation |title=Appendix:Glossary of collective nouns by collective term |date=2022-08-27 |url=https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Appendix:Glossary_of_collective_nouns_by_collective_term&oldid=68779643 |work=Wiktionary |language=en |access-date=2022-11-19}}

Common names include:

{{Colbegin}}

• armadillo bug{{cite book |author=Dale Mayer |year=2010 |title=The Complete Guide to Companion Planting: Everything You Need to Know to Make Your Garden Successful |publisher=Atlantic Publishing Company |isbn=9781601383457 |page=88 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=32xpkvpXyvIC&pg=PA88}}
• boat-builder (Newfoundland, Canada){{cite web |url=http://www.heritage.nf.ca/dictionary/index.php#411 |title=Dictionary of Newfoundland English - boat n |access-date=February 27, 2012}}
• butcher boy or butchy boy (Australia,{{cite web |title=Bugs Bugs Bugs! |publisher=Museum Victoria |access-date=March 30, 2010 |url=http://www.museumvictoria.museum/pages/2085/bugs-bugs-bugs-introduction.pdf }} mostly around Melbourne){{cite web

| title =Australian Word Map

| work =Macquarie Dictionary

| publisher =Macmillan Publishers, Australia

| date =2014

| url =https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/resources/aus/word/map/search/word/butcher%20boy/Melbourne%20Region/

| access-date = February 8, 2015

}}

• carpenter or cafner (Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada){{cite web|url=http://www.heritage.nf.ca/dictionary/a-z-index.php#742|title=Dictionary of Newfoundland English - carpenter n|website=Dictionary of Newfoundland English|access-date=September 29, 2016}}
• cheeselog (Reading, England){{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/berkshire/content/articles/2005/01/26/voices_linguist_interview_feature.shtml |title=The sound of Reddin |publisher=BBC |access-date=September 17, 2006 |author=Paul Kerswill}}
• cheesy bobs (Guildford, England){{cite web |url=http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/lifestyle/fun-stuff/everyone-guildford-calling-wood-lice-10734063 |title=Everyone in Guildford is calling wood lice 'cheesy bobs' and it's brilliant |publisher=Trinity Mirror Group |access-date=January 15, 2016 |author=James Chapple|date=2016-01-14 }}
• cheesy bug (North West Kent, Gravesend, England){{Cite book|title=Kent Dialect|last=Howe|first=Ian|publisher=Bradwell Books|year=2012|isbn=9781902674346|pages=7, 18}}
• chiggy pig (Devon, England){{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/voices2005/features/devon_dialect.shtml |publisher=BBC Devon |title=BBC Devon: Voices |access-date=June 25, 2012}}{{cite web |url=http://urbpan.livejournal.com/251568.html |publisher=The Urban Pantheist |title=365 Urban Species. #093: Woodlouse |access-date=January 18, 2009|date=2006-04-03 }}
• chisel pig{{cite web | last=Aylward | first=Steve | title=The egg-cellent world of invertebrate eggs | website=Suffolk Wildlife Trust | date=2021-03-30 | url=http://www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org/news/egg-cellent-world-invertebrate-eggs | access-date=2022-04-08}}
• chucky pig (Devon, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, England){{Cite journal|last=Barber|first=A. D.|date=2015|title=Vernacular names of woodlice with particular reference to Devonshire|url=http://www.bmig.org.uk/sites/www.bmig.org.uk/files/bulletin/BullBMIG28p54-63_Barber.pdf|journal=Bulletin of the British Myriapod & Isopod Group|volume=28|pages=54–63}}
• doodlebug (also used for the larva of an antlion{{cite web |url=http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=sow%20bug |title=Sow bug |publisher=Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.0.1) |year=2006 |access-date=August 17, 2006}} and for the cockchafer)
• fat pig (Ireland)
• gramersow (Cornwall, England){{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yt_7fiLj7Z0C&q=gramersow&pg=PT193 |title=Where the People Are: Language and Community in the Poetry of W.S. Graham |author=Matthew Francis |publisher=Salt Publishing |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-876857-23-3}}
• hog-louseOxford English Dictionary 1933: headword Hog-louse
• millipedus
• QuaQua regional to Beddau and Keppoch Street Roath
• {{lang|cy|mochyn coed}} ({{gloss|tree pig}}), {{lang|cy|pryf lludw}} ({{gloss|ash bug}}), granny grey in Wales{{cite web |url=http://www.nilesbio.com/prod94.html |title=Pillbugs |publisher=Niles Biological, Inc. |access-date=June 8, 2016 }}
• pill bug (usually applied only to the genus Armadillidium){{cite web |url=http://www.caledonianrecord.com/pages/hidden_worlds/story/af246319d |date=August 10, 2002 |title=Little armored tanks |author=Bill Amos |publisher=Caledonian-Record}}
• potato bug
• roll up bug{{cite web |title=You say potato bug, I say roly-poly, you say… |publisher=Charlotte Observer |date=March 20, 2004 |author=Gail Smith-Arrants |url=http://www.uwm.edu/~vaux/you-say-potato-bug.pdf }}
• roly-poly{{cite web |url=http://cfprod01.imt.uwm.edu/Dept/FLL/linguistics/dialect/staticmaps/q_74.html |title=Dialect Survey |publisher=Harvard University |access-date=September 30, 2006 |author=Bert Vaux & Scott A. Golder |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060903212243/http://cfprod01.imt.uwm.edu/Dept/FLL/linguistics/dialect/staticmaps/q_74.html |archive-date = September 3, 2006}}
• slater (Scotland, Ulster, New Zealand and Australia){{cite book|title=The Concise Scots Dictionary|year=1987|publisher=Aberdeen University Press|location=Aberdeen|isbn=978-0-08-028492-7|pages=628|edition=3rd|editor=Mairi Robinson}}{{cite web |url=http://soilbugs.massey.ac.nz/isopoda.php |title=Guide to New Zealand soil invertebrates: Isopoda |publisher=Massey University |author=Maria Minor & A. W. Robertson |year=2006 |access-date=May 13, 2007}}{{cite web |url= http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s2748796.htm |title= Fact Sheet: Slater Control |author=Josh Byrne|website= Australian Broadcasting Corporation |year=2009 |access-date=May 22, 2012}}
• sow bug
• woodbunter
• wood bug (British Columbia, Canada){{cite web |url=http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/features/urban_critters/story.html?id=6f9e1efc-6f84-4591-b19b-e4a9eb89772b&k=21357 |title=Wood Bug |date=November 26, 2007 |publisher=Vancouver Sun |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120702052913/http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/features/urban_critters/story.html?id=6f9e1efc-6f84-4591-b19b-e4a9eb89772b&k=21357 |archive-date=2 July 2012 |url-status=dead}}
• wood pig (mochyn coed, Welsh){{Cite web |date=2020-07-08 |title=Woodlouse, slater, or chucky pig? This insect has more than 250 names! |url=https://www.bbc.com/newsround/53319409 |access-date=2023-03-08 |website=BBC Newsround |language=en-GB}}

{{Colend}}

File:Oniscidea woodlouse morphology.png

The woodlouse has a shell-like exoskeleton, which it must progressively shed as it grows. The moult takes place in two stages; the back half is lost first, followed two or three days later by the front. This method of moulting is different from that of most arthropods, which shed their cuticle in a single process. It is theorized that this allows woodlice to maintain partial mobility while molting.

A female woodlouse will keep fertilised eggs in a marsupium on the underside of her body, which covers the under surface of the thorax and is formed by overlapping plates attached to the bases of the first five pairs of legs. They hatch into offspring that look like small white woodlice curled up in balls, although initially without the last pair of legs.{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Wood-louse|volume=28|page=802|first=William Thomas|last=Calman|authorlink=William Thomas Calman}} The mother then appears to "give birth" to her offspring. A few species are also capable of reproducing asexually."How Now, Sow Bug?," Discover, August 1999, 68.

Despite being crustaceans like lobsters or crabs, woodlice are said to have an unpleasant taste similar to "strong urine". This is due to their high concentration of uric acid,{{Cite journal |last1=DRESEL |first1=ELISABETH I. B. |last2=MOYLE |first2=VIVIEN |date=1950-09-01 |title=Nitrogenous Excretion of Amphipods and Isopods |url=https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.27.2.210 |journal=Journal of Experimental Biology |volume=27 |issue=2 |pages=210–225 |doi=10.1242/jeb.27.2.210 |pmid=14794856 |issn=1477-9145|url-access=subscription }} which is one of the chemicals in urine. Their flavor has also been compared to shellfish.{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/video/roly-polies-came-from-the-sea-to-conquer-the-earth-kdwote/#:~:text=They%27re%20more%20closely%20related,foragers%20call%20them%20wood%20shrimp. |access-date=12 August 2024 |title=Deep Look | Roly Polies Came from the Sea to Conquer the Earth | Season 4 | Episode 2 | PBS |website=PBS }}

{{multiple image

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| image1 = Armadillidium vulgare 001.jpg

| width1 = 180

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| image2 = Glomeris marginata 1.jpg

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| caption2 =

| footer = Comparison of the pill bug Armadillidium vulgare (left) and the pill millipede Glomeris marginata (right)

}}

Pill bugs (woodlice of the family Armadillidiidae and Armadillidae) can be confused with pill millipedes of the order Glomerida.{{cite web |title=Pill woodlouse (Armadillidium vulgare) |url=http://www.arkive.org/pill-woodlouse/armadillidium-vulgare/info.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090903034429/http://www.arkive.org/pill-woodlouse/armadillidium-vulgare/info.html |archive-date=September 3, 2009 |access-date=February 13, 2009 |publisher=ARKive.org |df=mdy-all}} Both of these groups of terrestrial segmented arthropods are about the same size. They live in very similar habitats, share a similar diet, and conglobate as a defense mechanism. Pill millipedes and pillbugs appear superficially similar to the naked eye. This is an example of convergent evolution.

These two groups can be distinguished in several ways. Glomeris millipedes have 19 (males) or 17 (females) pairs of legs, while pill bugs only have 7 pairs of legs. Additionally, pill bugs have a thorax consisting of 7 body segments, 5 abdominal segments, and a pleotelson, while Glomeris millipedes lack a visually defined thorax and have 12 body segments total. While the uropods of pillbugs are relatively quite small, flipping a pill bug over will reveal the small uropod overlapping the pleotelson.{{Cite web |title=Armadillidium vulgare, with notes on Porcellio, Ligia, and Oniscus |url=https://lanwebs.lander.edu/faculty/rsfox/invertebrates/armadillidium.html |access-date=2023-09-23 |website=lanwebs.lander.edu}} Some woodlouse species, like Armadillidium maculatum, seem to display Batesian Mimicry to certain pill millipedes like Glomeris marginata.File:Gråsuggor (Isopoda) - Ystad-2020.jpg

{{Multiple image

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| width = 200

| header = Environmental extremes

| image1 = Hemilepistus reaumurii 03.JPG

| caption1 = Hemilepistus reaumuri lives in "the driest habitat conquered by any species of crustacean".

| image2 = Ligia oceanica Flickr.jpg

| caption2 = Ligia oceanica is aquatic.

}}

Many members of Oniscidea live in terrestrial, non-aquatic environments, breathing through trachea-like lungs in their paddle-shaped hind legs (pleopods), called pleopodal lungs. Woodlice need moisture because they rapidly lose water by excretion and through their cuticle, and so are usually found in damp, dark places, such as under rocks and logs, although one species, the desert-dwelling Hemilepistus reaumuri, inhabits "the driest habitat conquered by any species of crustacean".{{cite book |author=Rod Preston-Mafham & Ken Preston-Mafham |year=1993 |title=The Encyclopedia of Land Invertebrate Behavior |publisher=MIT Press |isbn=978-0-262-16137-4 |chapter=Crustacea. Woodlice, crabs |page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofla0000pres/page/161 161] |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sDpagGxJw3AC&pg=PA161 |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofla0000pres/page/161 }} They are usually nocturnal and are detritivores, feeding mostly on dead plant matter.

A few woodlice have returned to water. Evolutionary ancient species are amphibious, such as the marine-intertidal sea slater (Ligia oceanica), which belongs to family Ligiidae. Other examples include some Haloniscus species from Australia (family Scyphacidae), and in the northern hemisphere several species of Trichoniscidae and Thailandoniscus annae (family Styloniscidae). Species for which aquatic life is assumed include Typhlotricholigoides aquaticus (Mexico) and Cantabroniscus primitivus (Spain).{{cite journal |author=Ivo Karaman |year=2003 |title=Macedonethes stankoi n. sp., a rhithral oniscidean isopod (Isopoda: Oniscidea: Trichoniscidae) from Macedonia |journal=Organisms Diversity & Evolution |volume=3 |issue=8 |pages=1–15 |doi=10.1078/1439-6092-00080}}

File:Dysdera crocata.jpg.]]

Woodlice are eaten by a wide range of insectivores, including spiders of the genus Dysdera, such as the woodlouse spider Dysdera crocata,{{cite web |url=http://www.cirrusimage.com/isopoda_sow_bug.htm |title=Common Woodlouse, Sow Bug, Pillbug |author=Bruce Marlin |access-date=February 10, 2009 |work=North American Insects and Spiders |archive-date=March 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307193453/http://www.cirrusimage.com/isopoda_sow_bug.htm |url-status=dead }} and land planarians of the genus Luteostriata, such as Luteostriata abundans.{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1590/S1984-46702009005000011| title = Predatory behavior of the land flatworm Notogynaphallia abundans (Platyhelminthes: Tricladida)| journal = Zoologia (Curitiba)| volume = 26| issue = 4| pages = 606| year = 2009| last1 = Prasniski | first1 = M. E. T. | last2 = Leal-Zanchet | first2 = A. M. | doi-access = free}}

Woodlice are sensitive to agricultural pesticides, but can tolerate some toxic heavy metals, which they accumulate in the hepatopancreas. Thus they can be used as bioindicators of heavy metal pollution.{{cite journal |last1=Paoletti |first1=Maurizio G. |last2=Hassall |first2=Mark |title=Woodlice (Isopoda: Oniscidea): their potential for assessing sustainability and use as bioindicators |journal=Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment |date=1999 |volume=74 |issue=1–3 |pages=157–165 |doi=10.1016/S0167-8809(99)00035-3|bibcode=1999AgEE...74..157P }}

The oldest fossils of woodlice are known from the mid-Cretaceous around 100 million years ago, from amber deposits found in Spain, France and Myanmar, These include a specimen of living genus Ligia from the Charentese amber of France, the genus Myanmariscus from the Burmese amber of Myanmar, which belongs to the Synocheta and likely the Styloniscidae, Eoligiiscus tarraconensis which belongs to the family Ligiidae, Autrigoniscus resinicola which belongs to the family Trichoniscidae, and Heraclitus helenae which possibly belongs to Detonidae all from Spanish amber,{{Cite journal|last1=Sánchez-García|first1=Alba|last2=Peñalver|first2=Enrique|last3=Delclòs|first3=Xavier|last4=Engel|first4=Michael S.|date=2021-08-06|title=Terrestrial Isopods from Spanish Amber (Crustacea: Oniscidea): Insights into the Cretaceous Soil Biota|url=https://bioone.org/journals/american-museum-novitates/volume-2021/issue-3974/3974.1/Terrestrial-Isopods-from-Spanish-Amber-Crustacea--Oniscidea--Insights/10.1206/3974.1.full|journal=American Museum Novitates|issue=3974|pages=1–32 |doi=10.1206/3974.1|hdl=2445/182822 |s2cid=236936902 |issn=0003-0082|hdl-access=free}} and indeterminate specimens Charentese amber.{{Cite journal|last1=Broly|first1=Pierre|last2=Maillet|first2=Sébastien|last3=Ross|first3=Andrew J.|date=July 2015|title=The first terrestrial isopod (Crustacea: Isopoda: Oniscidea) from Cretaceous Burmese amber of Myanmar|url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0195667115000282|journal=Cretaceous Research|language=en|volume=55|pages=220–228|doi=10.1016/j.cretres.2015.02.012|bibcode=2015CrRes..55..220B |url-access=subscription}} The widespread distribution and diversification apparent of woodlice in the mid-Cretaceous implies that the origin of woodlice predates the breakup of Pangaea, likely during the Carboniferous.

Although woodlice, like earthworms, are generally considered beneficial in gardens for their role in controlling certain pests,{{cite web

| url = http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=4399

| title = Humble Roly-Poly Bug Thwarts Stink Bugs in Farms, Gardens

| last = Bailey

| first = Pat

| date = March 15, 1999

| publisher = UC Davis News Service

}} producing compost and overturning the soil, some species like those of the genus Armadillidium have also been known to feed on cultivated plants, such as ripening strawberries and tender seedlings.{{cite web |url=https://bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/pubs/ep120.pdf |title=Pillbugs and sowbugs |publisher=Kansas State University |author=Phillip E. Sloderbeck |year=2004}}

Woodlice can also invade homes in groups searching for moisture, and their presence can indicate dampness problems.{{cite web|url=http://www.pestcontrolcanada.com/INSECTS/sow_bugs.htm |title=Sow Bugs |publisher=Pestcontrolcanada.com |access-date=August 17, 2012}} They are not generally regarded as a serious household pest as they do not spread disease and do not damage sound wood or structures. They can be easily removed with the help of vacuum cleaners, chemical sprays, insect repellents, and insect killers,{{Cite web|url=https://homilly.com/get-rid-of-woodlice-naturally/|title=How To Get Rid Of Woodlice in Home Naturally | With Best Woodlice Killer|date=June 3, 2020}} or by removing the dampness.

Woodlice have become a popular household pet for children as well as a hobby for invertebrate and insect enthusiasts or collectors.{{Cite web |title=American Isopod and Myriapod Group - Isopod Hobby |url=https://www.americanisopodsmyriapods.com/isopod-hobby |access-date=2023-09-23 |website=www.americanisopodsmyriapods.com |language=en-US}} Porcellionidae (sowbugs) and Armadillididae (pillbugs) are seen often as they are the most common terrestrial isopods in Europe and North America.{{Cite web |title=Pillbugs and Sowbugs (Land Isopods) |url=https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/pillbugs-sowbugs-land-isopods |access-date=2021-08-18 |website=Missouri Department of Conservation |language=en}}

While some isopod species are kept purely as pets, some can also be used as an addition to bioactive terrariums, due to their ability to break down decaying organic materials.

As isopods are bred in captivity, some hobbyists will discover a new mutation, or they will selectively breed isopods for a specific color/pattern expression. These populations with unique appearances are referred to as 'morphs'. Morphs are given nicknames, usually by the breeder who discovered/created the morph. The standard appearance of an isopod species is often referred to as 'Wild Type'.

Some isopod morphs are characterized by polygenic traits, such as 'Orange Vigor' (Armadillidium vulgare) and 'Pink Rubber Ducky' (Cubaris sp. "Rubber Ducky"), the result of selectively breeding isopods that best match the desired appearance. These genes can vary in their expression greatly, as they are not the result of a specific genetic mutation.{{Cite web |title=American Isopod and Myriapod Group - Color Morphs |url=https://www.americanisopodsmyriapods.com/isopod-hobby/color-morphs |access-date=2023-09-23 |website=www.americanisopodsmyriapods.com |language=en-US}}

Other morphs are the result of dominant or recessive mutations, as seen with 'T+/T− Albino' and 'Whiteout' (several spp.). As an example, T+ albino isopods are the result of an isopod being born without the ability to produce melanin, removing all black pigmentation. However, they are believed to be tyrosinase-positive (hence the T+), and therefore can still create some darker pigments such as brown and purple. T− albino isopods are thought to lack both melanin and tyrosinase, and therefore only express light yellows, oranges, and white.{{Cite journal |last1=Hasegawa |first1=Y. |last2=Negishi |first2=S. |last3=Naito |first3=J. |last4=Ishiguro |first4=I. |last5=Martin |first5=G. |last6=Juchault |first6=E |last7=Katakura |first7=Y. |date=1997 |title=Genetic and Biochemical Studies on Ommochrome Genesis in an Albino Strain of a Terrestrial Isopod, Armadillidium vulgare |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1600-0749.1997.tb00686.x |journal=Pigment Cell Research |language=en |volume=10 |issue=5 |pages=265–270 |doi=10.1111/j.1600-0749.1997.tb00686.x |pmid=9359622 |issn=0893-5785|url-access=subscription }}{{Cite journal |last=Raper |first=Henry Stanley |date=1926-01-01 |title=The Tyrosinase-Tyrosine Reaction |url=https://portlandpress.com/biochemj/article/20/4/735/3509/The-Tyrosinase-Tyrosine-ReactionProduction-of-l-3 |journal=Biochemical Journal |language=en |volume=20 |issue=4 |pages=735–742 |doi=10.1042/bj0200735 |issn=0306-3283 |pmc=1251777 |pmid=16743714}}{{Cite journal |last=Alikhan |first=M.A. |date=1976 |title=The tyrosinase system in the terrestrial isopod, Porcellio laevis latreille (porcellionidae, isopoda) |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/0305049176900535 |journal=Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part B: Comparative Biochemistry |language=en |volume=54 |issue=1 |pages=37–42 |doi=10.1016/0305-0491(76)90053-5|pmid=5233 |url-access=subscription }}

Confusion can often arise due to the rate at which unidentified or undescribed isopod species are introduced to the hobby. This has contributed significantly to the genus Cubaris being considered a wastebasket taxon,{{Cite journal |last1=Lillemets |first1=Birgitta |last2=Wilson |first2=George D. F. |date=2002-06-01 |title=Armadillidae (Crustacea: Isopoda) from Lord Howe Island: new taxa and biogeography |journal=Records of the Australian Museum |volume=54 |issue=1 |pages=71–98 |doi=10.3853/j.0067-1975.54.2002.1360 |issn=0067-1975|doi-access=free }} as many of the unidentified or undescribed isopod species are incorrectly labelled as "Cubaris sp." even when they do not fit the formal description of the genus.

{{excerpt|List of woodlice of the British Isles}}

There is general agreement that there are five main lineages in suborder Oniscidea, although the phylogenetic relationships between them are unsettled.{{cite journal |first=Friedhelm |last=Erhard |year=1998 |title=Phylogenetic relationships within the Oniscidea (Crustacea, Isopoda) |journal=Israel Journal of Zoology |volume=44 |issue=3–4 |pages=303–309|url=https://brill.com/view/journals/ijee/44/3-4/article-p303_7.xml}}{{cite book |last1=Martin |first1=Joel W. |first2=George E. |last2=Davis |year=2001 |title=An Updated Classification of the Recent Crustacea |publisher=Natural History Museum of Los Angeles |series=County Contributions in Science |volume=39 |pages=1–124 |url=https://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/121258.pdf}}{{cite journal |last1=Schmidt |first1=C. |title=Phylogeny of the terrestrial Isopoda (Oniscidea): a review. |journal=Arthropod Systematics & Phylogeny |year=2008 |volume=66 |pages=191–226 |doi=10.3897/asp.66.e31684 |url=https://www.zobodat.at/pdf/Arthropod-Systematics-Phylogeny_66_0191-0226.pdf |doi-access=free }} Two main schemes for the classification that differ in which group is considered sister to the remaining oniscideans. One places Ligiidae in section Diplocheta, with the remaining families divided between four sections in infraorder Holoverticata. The other places Tylidae in infraorder Tylomorpha, with the remaining families placed in three sections in infraorder Ligiamorpha. The former scheme is presented below.

{{Colbegin}}

• Infraorder/section Diplocheta
• Ligiidae
• Infraorder Holoverticata
• Section: Tylida
• Tylidae
• Section: Microcheta
• Mesoniscidae
• Section: Synocheta
• Schoebliidae
• Styloniscidae
• Titaniidae
• Trichoniscidae
• Turanoniscidae

{{Div col end}}

Section: Crinocheta

{{Div col|colwidth=15em}}

• Agnaridae
• Alloniscidae
• Armadillidae
• Armadillidiidae
• Balloniscidae
• Bathytropidae
• Berytoniscidae
• Cylisticidae
• Delatorreiidae
• Detonidae
• Eubelidae
• Halophilosciidae
• Olibrinidae
• Oniscidae
• Philosciidae
• Platyarthridae
• Porcellionidae
• Pudeoniscidae
• Rhyscotidae
• Scleropactidae
• Scyphacidae
• Spelaeoniscidae
• Stenoniscidae
• Tendosphaeridae
• Trachelipodidae

{{Colend}}

Beyond these, some genera are of uncertain familial assignment such as:

• Exalloniscus
• Sunniva

etc.

{{Portal|Crustaceans|Arthropods}}

• Invertebrate iridescent virus 31 – a species of virus hosted by woodlice

{{Reflist|32em}}

• {{cite journal |url=http://www.oniscidea-catalog.naturkundemuseum-bw.de/Cat_terr_isop.pdf |title=World catalog of terrestrial isopods (Isopoda: Oniscidea)—revised and updated version |author=Helmut Schmalfuss |year=2003 |journal=Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde, Serie A |volume=654 |pages=341 pp |access-date=July 30, 2018 |archive-date=February 24, 2009 |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20090224212510/http://www.oniscidea-catalog.naturkundemuseum-bw.de/Cat_terr_isop.pdf |url-status=dead }} (lists all validated species of Oniscidea published up to the end of 2004)
• {{cite journal |url=http://www.oniscidea-catalog.naturkundemuseum-bw.de/Bib_terr_isop.pdf |title=A bibliography of terrestrial isopods (Crustacea, Isopoda, Oniscidea)—revised and updated version |author=Helmut Schmalfuss |author2=Karin Wolf-Schwenninger |year=2002 |journal=Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde, Serie A |volume=639 |pages=120 pp |access-date=July 30, 2018 |archive-date=September 25, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925213652/http://www.oniscidea-catalog.naturkundemuseum-bw.de/Bib_terr_isop.pdf |url-status=dead }} (lists most scientific publications on the biology of Oniscidea published in a European language until the year 2004.)
• {{cite journal |author=Christian Schmidt & Andreas Leistikow |year=2004 |title=Catalogue of the terrestrial Isopoda (Crustacea: Isopoda: Oniscidea) |journal=Steenstrupia |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=1–118 |url=http://www.zmuc.dk/commonweb/JOURNALS/PDF/Vol28-1/Schmidt&Leistikow.pdf}} (lists all genera published up to the end of 2001)

• {{Commons category-inline|Oniscidea}}
• {{Wikispecies-inline|Oniscidea}}

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Category:Isopoda

Category:Terrestrial crustaceans

Category:Detritivores