Isopoda

Isopods are found in a wide variety of environments: marine, brackish, freshwater, and land. However they are the most successful terrestrial group of crustaceans, some being completely divorced from the aquatic environment.

All isopods lack a carapace and their head is fused with the first thoracic segment. They have seven pairs of uniramous limbs, and compound eyes.

Isopods show a wide range of feeding strategies, from herbivorous/omnivorous, scavengers, detritovores to direct plant eaters. Some are even parasitic, feeding off their host's tissue fluids.

Below is a picture of one of the most familiar isopods, the common woodlouse.

Woodlice under bark. Link to site.

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