Porcellionidae is a terrestrial family of the order Isopoda. 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, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

. The

ventral Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. 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 or chest is a part of the anatomy of humans, 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 divisions of the crea ...

exoskeleton An exoskeleton (from Greek ''éxō'' "outer" and ''skeletós'' "skeleton") is an external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body, in contrast to an internal skeleton (endoskeleton) in for example, a human. In usage, some of the ...

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 (''

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'' 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'' 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

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