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Updated live from Wikipedia, last check: May 29, 2012 15:48 UTC (46 seconds ago)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Armadillidium vulgare
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Isopoda
Suborder: Oniscidea
Family: Armadillidiidae
Genus: Armadillidium
Species: A. vulgare
Binomial name
Armadillidium vulgare
Latreille, 1804 [1]
Synonyms

Armadillidium affine
Armadillidium armeniense
Armadillidium brevicaudatum
Armadillidium commutatum
Armadillidium decipiens
Armadillidium marmoreum
Armadillidium nitidulum
Armadillidium oliveti
Armadillidium pilulare
Armadillidium schellenbergi
Armadillidium sorattinum
Armadillidium subdentatum
Armadillidium triviale
Armadillidium variegatum
Armadillo ater
Armadillo convexus
Armadillo marmoreus
Armadillo pilularis
Armadillo pustulatus
Armadillo trivialis
Armadillo variegatus
Armadillo vulgaris [2]

Armadillidium vulgare, the (common) pill-bug or (common) pill woodlouse, is a widespread European species of woodlouse. It is the most extensively investigated terrestrial isopod species [2].

Contents

Description

Armadillidium vulgare may reach a length of 18 mm, and is capable of rolling into a ball when disturbed. This ability, along with its general appearance, gives it the name pill-bug and also creates the potential for confusion with pill millipedes such as Glomeris marginata [3]. It can be distinguished from Armadillidium nasatum and Armadillidium depressum, the only other British species in the genus, by the gap that A. nasatum and A. depressum leave when rolling into a ball; A. vulgare does not leave such a gap [4].

Armadillidium vulgare beginning to unroll from its defensive posture

Ecology

A. vulgare is able to withstand drier conditions than many other woodlouse species, and is restricted to calcareous soils or coastal areas [3]. It feeds chiefly on decaying plant matter, but also grazes lichens and algae from tree bark and walls [5].

It is able to regulate its temperature through its behaviour, preferring bright sunshine when temperatures are low, but remaining in shadow when temperatures are high; temperatures below −2 °C or above 36 °C are lethal to it [6]. A. vulgare is less susceptible to cold during the night, and may enter a state of dormancy during the winter in order to survive temperatures which would otherwise be lethal [6].

Distribution

The native distribution of A. vulgare ranges across Europe, especially in the Mediterranean region [2]. In the United Kingdom, A. vulgare is very common in southern and eastern England, but is more confined to coastal areas in the north [7]. Similarly, in Ireland, A. vulgare is common in the south and east, but rarer in the north and west [8].

A. vulgare has been introduced to many locations in North America, where it may reach population densities of up to 10,000 individuals per square metre [9]. It is now one of the most abundant invertebrate species in California coastal grassland habitats [10]. It has also been introduced, to a lesser extent, to sites across the world [2].

References

  1. ^ Armadillidium vulgare (TSN 93250). Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
  2. ^ a b c d Helmut Schmalfuss (2003). "World catalog of terrestrial isopods (Isopoda: Oniscidea) — revised and updated version". Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde, Serie A 654: 341 pp. http://www.oniscidea-catalog.naturkundemuseum-bw.de/Cat_terr_isop.pdf.  
  3. ^ a b "Pill woodlouse (Armadillidium vulgare)". ARKive.org. http://www.arkive.org/pill-woodlouse/armadillidium-vulgare/info.html. Retrieved 2009-02-13.  
  4. ^ "Woodlouse Wizard: an identification key". Natural History Museum. http://www.nhm.ac.uk/hosted_sites/woodlice/page004.html. Retrieved 2009-02-13.  
  5. ^ "Common pill woodlouse — Armadillidium vulgare". Natural England. http://www.plantpress.com/wildlife/o109-commonpillwoodlouse.php. Retrieved 2009-02-13.  
  6. ^ a b Roberto Refinetti (1984). "Behavioral temperature regulation in the pill bug, Armadillidium vulgare (Isopoda)". Crustaceana 47 (1): 29–43. doi:10.1163/156854084X00298. http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/brill/cr/1984/00000047/00000001/art00003.  
  7. ^ "Armadillidium vulgare". Natural History Museum. http://www.nhm.ac.uk/hosted_sites/woodlice/photos/armadillidium_vulgare.html. Retrieved 2009-02-13.  
  8. ^ "Grid map of records on the Gateway for Common Pill Woodlouse (Armadillidium vulgare)". NBN Gateway. http://data.nbn.org.uk/gridMap/gridMap.jsp?allDs=1&srchSpKey=NBNSYS0000008572. Retrieved 2009-02-13.  
  9. ^ Jan Frouza, Richard Lobinske, Jirí Kalcík & Arshad Ali (2008). "Effects of the exotic crustacean, Armadillidium vulgare (Isopoda), and other macrofauna on organic matter dynamics in soil microcosms in a hardwood forest in central Florida". Florida Entomologist 91 (2): 328. doi:10.1653/0015-4040(2008)91[328:EOTECA]2.0.CO;2. http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1653/0015-4040(2008)91%5B328:EOTECA%5D2.0.CO%3B2.  
  10. ^ Oscar H. Paris (1963). "The ecology of Armadillidium vulgare (Isopoda: Oniscoidea) in California grassland: food, enemies, and weather". Ecological Monographs 33 (1): 1–22. doi:10.2307/1948475. http://www.jstor.org/pss/1948475.  

Wikispecies

Up to date as of January 23, 2010

From Wikispecies

Taxonavigation

Armadillium cf. vulgare

Main Page
Cladus: Eukaryota
Supergroup: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Ecdysozoa
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Classis: Malacostraca
Subclassis: Eumalacostraca
Superordo: Peracarida
Ordo: Isopoda
Cladus: Scutocoxifera
Subordo: Oniscidea
Infraordo: Ligiamorpha
Superfamilia: Armadilloidea
Familia: Armadillidiidae
Genus: Armadillidium
Species: Armadillidium vulgare
Subspecies: A. v. rufobrunneus -

Name

Armadillidium vulgare (Latreille, 1804)

References

additional references

  • Chilton, C. 1905: Notes on the distribution of some species of terrestrial Isopoda introduced into Australasia. Annals and magazine of natural history (7), 16: 428-432. BUGZ
  • Scott, R.R. 1984: The isopod fauna of some Auckland reserves and areas of native vegetation. Tane, 30: 227-233. BUGZ PDF

links

Vernacular names

English: pillbug
Français: cloporte vulgaire
日本語: オカダンゴムシ
中文: 鼠婦
Wikimedia Commons For more multimedia, look at Category:Armadillidium vulgare on Wikimedia Commons.







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