What is the suborder classification for terrestrial woodlice?
Answer
Oniscidea
The terrestrial forms of woodlice that have successfully colonized dry land are specifically grouped under the suborder Oniscidea. While Isopoda is the broader order to which all woodlice belong (including marine relatives), Oniscidea specifically denotes those lineages that have adapted to cope with the demands of life away from the ocean, such as minimizing water loss. This classification highlights the specific evolutionary branch that achieved the transition to soil and decaying wood, distinguishing them from their purely marine relatives within the same order.
Related Questions
What major taxonomic group do woodlice belong to, unlike insects?What two life-threatening hurdles did the move to dry land present?What is the suborder classification for terrestrial woodlice?What evolutionary term describes gills co-opted for terrestrial respiration?Which morphology describes sow bugs regarding their tail appendages (uropods)?What must remain wet for woodlice to breathe using pseudotracheae?What trait was already established in ancient sea woodlice before land colonization?What distinction separates Pill Bugs from Sow Bugs regarding their morphology?What ecological service makes terrestrial isopods vital in forest environments?What characteristic is shared by the pill millipedes and true woodlice?