| anterior |
front end of woodlouse |
| copography |
the eating of their faeces |
| desiccation |
drying out |
| dorsal |
upper surface (back) of woodlouse |
| haemocyanin |
copper based molecule which transports
oxygen in the fluid of the body cavity |
| haemolymph |
"blood" filling the body
cavities. Oxygen is carried by the haemocyanin molecule |
| hepatopancreas |
digestive glands of the midgut |
| lateral |
side surface (left or right) |
| manca |
the name for young woodlice after
hatching and up to the second moult. After hatching, they only have six segments in the
abdomen and 6 pairs of legs. After their first moult they have seven segments and 6 pairs
of legs. The 7th pair of legs don't develop until after the 2nd moult. |
| marsupium |
brood pouch |
| moulting |
shedding of the exoskeleton. Occurs in
two stages, the back half is moulted first and then the front half is moulted a few days
later |
| ommatidia |
simple eye - a number of these combine to
form the compound eyes found in most woodlice |
| pereopods |
walking legs - there are 7 pairs attached
to the thoracic segments |
| peroen |
thorax - the second and middle sectgion
of the body |
| pleon |
abdomen - the third and hindmost section
of the body |
| pleopods |
Five pairs of disk like covers on the
underside of the abdomen. The 2 anterior pairs in Porcellio scaber contain primitive lungs
(these appear as whitish patches) |
| posterior |
rear end of woodlouse |
| pseudotrachea |
air tubes or folds in the lungs to
increase the surface area |
| uropod |
double projections protruding from the
anterior end of the abdomen. The inner pair are called the endopods of the uropod and the
outer pair are the exopods of the uropod |
| ventral |
lower surface (under side) of woodlouse |
