Woodlice, slaters

Code OR269999

Flattened, pill-bug shaped isopods with five free abdominal segments each of which is narrower than the preceding segment. The head protrudes from the body such that the anterior thoracic segment forms a distinct 'shoulder'. The body is widest at the thorax and narrow at the telson. The uropods are short, pointed, and face directly backward. The flagellum of the antennae has 3-10 segments.

This family contains the terrestrial pill-bugs (woodlice, slaters). Persistent records from water bodies in southern Australia suggest that some species are aquatic.

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