Armadillidiidae

Not to be confused with Armadillidae.
"Pillbugs" redirects here. For the band, see The Pillbugs.

Armadillidiidae
Temporal range: Chattian–present
An Armadillidium granulatum in various stages of conglobation, i.e., "rolling up"
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Isopoda
Suborder: Oniscidea
Section: Crinocheta
Family: Armadillidiidae
Brandt, 1833
Genera

See text

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[1] or roly polies.[2] Other common names include slaters, potato bugs, butchy boys,[3] and doodle bugs.[4] 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.[5]

  1. ^ Gordon Gordh & David H. Headrick (2011). "Common pillbug". A Dictionary of Entomology (2nd ed.). CAB International. p. 343. ISBN 9781845935429.
  2. ^ Franklin, J. A., Byron, M. A., & Gillett-Kaufman, J. L. (2015, August). Armadillidium vulgare. Pillbug - Armadillidium vulgare. Retrieved September 7, 2022, from https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/MISC/Armadillidium_vulgare.htm
  3. ^ Erica (2013-04-11). "Roly-Poly Slaters". Gardening 4 Kids. Retrieved 2023-04-17.
  4. ^ Kenn Kaufman & Kimberly Kaufman (2012). Kaufman Field Guide to Nature of New England. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 364. ISBN 9780618456970.
  5. ^ Spyros Sfenthourakis & Hornung Elisabeth (2018). "Isopod Distribution and Climate Change". ZooKeys (801): 25–61. Bibcode:2018ZooK..801...25S. doi:10.3897/zookeys.801.23533. PMC 6288265. PMID 30564031.