pleopodal lungs

{{short description|Feature of isopod anatomy}}

File:Porcellio_laevis_female_pleopoda.jpg identify them as pleopodal lungs. ]]

File:Armadillidium vulgare – pleon, pleopodal lungs.png, male pleon, ventral view.

en endopodite

ep epimeron

ex exopodite

lg pleopodal lung

pp pleopod

pr protopodite

pt pleotelson

ur uropod]]

File:FMIB 47699 Structure of the Breathing Organs of Porcellio scaber.jpg]]

Pleopodal lungs are an anatomical feature of terrestrial isopods and a component of their respiratory system. They are ancestrally derived from pleopodal gills, and they facilitate gas exchange on land. They perform a function similar to spiracles in insects.{{Cite web|url=http://www.bmig.org.uk/image/woodlice-pleopodal-lungs|title=Woodlice: 'pleopodal lungs'|last=|first=|date=|website=British Myriapod and Isopod Group|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-04-24}}{{Cite journal|last=Unwin|first=Earnest Ewart|date=1931|title=On the structure of the respiratory organs of the terrestrial Isopoda|url=https://eprints.utas.edu.au/13122/|journal=Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania|language=en|pages=37–104|doi=10.26749/HZYX2493 |issn=0080-4703}}

Pleopodal lungs are identifiable on woodlice as white patches on the lower five segments (the pleon) on the ventral side (underside). The number of pleopodal lungs varies by species: they may have up to five pairs, or only two pairs as in Porcellio laevis; a minority of species lack pleopodal lungs entirely.