Porcellionidae is a terrestrial family of the order

Isopoda Isopoda is an order of crustaceans. Members of this group are called isopods and include both aquatic species and terrestrial species such as woodlice. All have rigid, segmented exoskeletons, two pairs of antennae, seven pairs of jointed l ...

. This family contains 530 species, found on every continent except

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

. The

ventral Standard anatomical terms of location are used to describe unambiguously the anatomy of humans and other animals. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

plate of the

thoracic The thorax (: thoraces or thoraxes) or chest is a part of the anatomy of mammals and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main ...

exoskeleton An exoskeleton () . is a skeleton that is on the exterior of an animal in the form of hardened integument, which both supports the body's shape and protects the internal organs, in contrast to an internal endoskeleton (e.g. human skeleton, that ...

flare out slightly over the legs. This "flare" is called the ''epimeron''. The

uropod Uropods are posterior appendages found on a wide variety of crustaceans. They typically have functions in locomotion. Definition Uropods are often defined as the appendages of the last body segment of a crustacean. An alternative definition sugge ...

s, antenna-like structures at the back of the specimen, are flattened out and spearlike, and extend beyond the last exoskeletal plate.

Genera

The family contains 19 genera, and two further genera (''

Inchanga Intshanga is a village in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, approximately halfway between Durban and Pietermaritzburg. Schools Inchanga has several schools, including * Rietvallei Combined School * Siphesihle High School, * Inchanga Primary Sch ...

'' and '' Mahehia'') may be included. *'' Acaeroplastes'' Verhoeff, 1918 *'' Agabiformius'' Verhoeff, 1908 *'' Atlantidium'' Arcangeli, 1936 *'' Brevurus'' Schmalfuss, 1986 *'' Caeroplastes'' Verhoeff, 1918 *'' Congocellio'' Arcangeli, 1950 *'' Dorypoditius'' Verhoeff, 1942 *'' Leptotrichus'' Budde-Lund, 1885 *'' Lucasius'' Kinahan, 1859 *''

Mica Micas ( ) are a group of silicate minerals whose outstanding physical characteristic is that individual mica crystals can easily be split into fragile elastic plates. This characteristic is described as ''perfect basal cleavage''. Mica is co ...

'' Budde-Lund, 1908 *'' Pondo'' Barnard, 1937 *'' Porcellio'' Latreille, 1804 *'' Porcellionides'' Miers, 1877 *'' Proporcellio'' Verhoeff, 1907 *'' Soteriscus'' Vandel, 1956 *'' Thermocellio'' Verhoeff, 1942 *'' Tropicocellio'' Arcangeli, 1950 *'' Tura'' Budde-Lund, 1908 *'' Uramba'' Budde-Lund, 1908

References

Isopod families Taxa named by Johann Friedrich von Brandt Taxa named by Julius Theodor Christian Ratzeburg {{Isopod-stub