Common Rough Woodlouse
The common rough woodlouse (Porcellio scaber) is a gray, bumpy-surfaced terrestrial isopod that lives under stones, bark and in compost across the world. It cannot roll into a ball, unlike pill bugs.
The common rough woodlouse (Porcellio scaber) is a gray, bumpy-surfaced terrestrial isopod that lives under stones, bark and in compost across the world. It cannot roll into a ball, unlike pill bugs.
🧬 Field Guide Specimen: Open Common Rough Woodlouse in the CRV Science Field Guide to log the specimen, see its place among the Ecdysozoa lineages in the Cladogram Explorer, and test your recall in the Red List conservation game.
Breathing on Land
Woodlice have gill-like appendages on the abdomen and, in some species, internal air-filled tubes (pseudotracheae) that appear as white patches. They need humid places to avoid drying out, and mass together under logs to reduce water loss.
Recycling Metals
The woodlouse digests dead plant matter and even eats its own droppings to extract more nutrients. Its digestive gland accumulates metals such as copper, so woodlice are used to monitor soil pollution.
Relatives
The rough woodlouse is a relative of the pill bug and the giant isopod. See Common Pill Bug.
Common Rough Woodlouse at a Glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Porcellio scaber |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Arthropoda |
| Class | Malacostraca |
| Order | Isopoda |
| Family | Porcellionidae |
| Field Guide group | Ecdysozoa: Mandibulata (Mandibulates) |
| Diagnostic feature (Field Guide) | Gray bumpy flattened body under logs and stones; cannot roll into a ball; breathes through gill-like plates on its underside. |
| Order | Isopoda |
| Rolling | Cannot roll into a ball |
See Also
- Common Pill Bug — a rolling isopod
- Water Louse — an aquatic isopod