Definition
noun
A taxonomic family comprised of terrestrial woodlouse species that are identifiable chiefly by their ability to roll into a ball as a defense mechanism
Supplement
Armadillidiidae is a taxonomic family belonging to the suborder Oniscidea. Members of this family are known for their ability to roll into a sphere as a defensive mode, which is akin to the armadillos. Thus, they are commonly referred to as pill woodlice, roly-polies, leg pebbles, or potato bugs.
Armadillidium vulgare is one of the woodlouse species belonging to the family Armadillidiidae. This species is sometimes confused with a pill millipede since they seem to be morphologically similar (being segmented and are of the same size). They also share similar habitat and both can roll into a ball. However, the pill millipede (e.g. Glomeris marginata) has two pairs of legs in each of the body segment. The pillbug (similar to all isopods) has only a single pair of legs in a body segment.
Apart from Armadillidiidae, other genera of this family are Eleoniscus, Ballodillium, Trichodillidium, etc.
Scientific classification:
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Subphylum: Crustacea
- Class: Malacostraca
- Order: Isopoda
- Suborder: Oniscidea (Latreille, 1802)
- Family: Armadillidiidae
Common name(s):
- pill-bug
- potato bug
- pill woodlouse
- roly-poly
- doodle bug
- carpenter
See also:
