Pill bugs, sand lice

Code OR139999

The most common pill-bug family of shorelines and estuaries, with some species entering the lower reaches of rivers. These are flattened isopods which can roll themselves into a ball. The thorax widens gradually and the animal is widest about the last thoracic segment or abdomen. There is only one visible abdominal segment. The telson is the same width as the posterior thorax or abdomen, and is triangular, tapering to a point. The uropods are flat, held fan-like, and two (or more) times as long as they are wide.

References:

Horwitz, P., Knott, B. and Williams, W.D. (1995) A Preliminary Key to the Malacostracan Families (Crustacea) found in Australian Inland Waters . Co-operative Research Centre for Freshwater Ecology Identification Guide No. 4., Albury, NSW.

Williams, W.D. (1980) Australian Freshwater Life: The Invertebrates of Australian Inland Waters. The Macmillan Company of Australia, Melbourne.

Wilson, G. D. ('Buz'). 1999. Preliminary phylogeny of the Phreatoicidea. Webpage at