Curly Woodlouse
Cylisticus convexus (De Geer, 1778)
Taxonomy
| Kingdom | Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum | Crustacea |
| Class | Malacostraca |
| Order | Isopoda |
| Family | Cylisticidae |
| Genus | Cylisticus |
| Species | Cylisticus convexus (De Geer, 1778) |
Description
Diagnostic characters
- Ecological class
- Troglophile
- Realm
- Terrestrial
Distribution
Range
Known from 19 counties across seven states.
Continent
North America
Country
United States
States and provinces
Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia
Counties
- Alabama
- Limestone, Marshall, Morgan
- Georgia
- Bartow, Dade, Floyd, Walker
- Illinois
- Adams, Hardin, Monroe, St. Clair
- Indiana
- Crawford
- Kentucky
- Fayette
- Tennessee
- Hamilton, Jackson, Montgomery, Pickett, Sequatchie
- Virginia
- Roanoke
Conservation and management
NatureServe
G5 Secure
National ranks
- United States
- NNA
Subnational ranks
- Illinois
- SNA Not Applicable
- Oklahoma
- SNA Not Applicable
- Alabama
- SNA Not Applicable
- Indiana
- SNA Not Applicable
- Wyoming
- SNA Not Applicable
- Georgia
- SNA Not Applicable
State and federal status
Not listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act
References
- Hatch, M.H. 1939. Records of terrestrial Isopoda or sow bugs from North America. The American Midland Naturalist 21: 256–157. doi:10.2307/2420383
- Lewis, J.J., Moss, P., Tecic, D. & Nelson, M.E. 2003. A conservation focused inventory of subterranean invertebrates of the southwestern Illinois karst. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 65: 9–21.
- Lewis, J.J. 2005. A biological inventory of caves of the Cumberland Plateau. Tennessee Chapter Cave Program, The Nature Conservancy, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. 156 pp.
- Lewis, J.J. & Lewis, S.L. 2007. A biological reconnaissance of selected caves in the Highland Rim area of central Tennessee. Tennessee Chapter Cave Program, The Nature Conservancy, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. 42 pp.
- Lewis, J.J., Whitaker, J.O. & Krantz, G.W. 2010. A biological reconnaissance of the invertebrate fauna of twelve Tennessee caves with notes on the guanophilic mites of the genus Macrocheles. Journal of the Tennessee Academy of Science 85: 53–61.
- Niemiller, M.L., Anderson, C.L., Maxwell, E.C., Midgette, H., Quering, C., Richards, M., Wilson, K. & Wirwa, N. 2025. A noteworthy range extension of the federally endangered Alabama Cave Shrimp (Palaemonias alabamae) south of the Tennessee River in northern Alabama. Southeastern Naturalist 24: N47-N58. doi:10.1656/058.024.0403
- Peck, S.B. & Lewis, J.J. 1978. Zoogeography and evolution of the subterranean invertebrate faunas of Illinois and southeastern Missouri. National Speleological Society Bulletin 40: 39–63.
- Peck, S.B. 1988. A review of the cave fauna of Canada, and the composition and ecology of the invertebrate fauna of caves and mines in Ontario. Canadian Journal of Zoology 66: 1197–1213. doi:10.1139/z88-176
- Peck, S.B. 1989. The cave fauna of Alabama. Part I. The terrestrial invertebrates (excluding insects). National Speleological Society Bulletin 51: 11–33.
- Reeves, W.K., Jensen, J.B. & Ozier, J.C. 2000. New faunal and fungal records from caves in Georgia, USA. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 62: 169–179. https://caves.org/wp-content/uploads/Publications/JCKS/v62/v62n3-Reeves.pdf.
- Schultz, G.A. 1970. Descriptions of new subspecies of Ligidium elrodii (Packard) comb. nov. with notes on other isopod crustaceans from caves in North America (Oniscoidea). The American Midland Naturalist 84: 36–45. doi:10.2307/2423724
- Vandel, A. 1950. Isopodes terrestres recueillis par C. Bolivar et R. Jeannel (1928) et le Dr. Henrot (1946). Archives de Zoologie Experimentale et Generale 87: 183–210.
- Webb, D.W., Taylor, S.J. & Krejca, J.K. 1993. The biological resources of Illinois caves and other subterranean environments. Illinois Natural History Survey, Champaign, Illinois, USA. 143 pp.
- Zigler, K.S., Niemiller, M.L., Stephen, C.D.R., Ayala, B.N., Milne, M.A., Gladstone, N.S., Engel, A.S., Jensen, J.B., Camp, C.D., Ozier, J.C. & Cressler, A. 2020. Biodiversity from caves and other subterranean habitats of Georgia, USA. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 82: 125–167. doi:10.4311/2019LSC0125
How to cite this account
Cylisticus convexus (De Geer, 1778). Cave Biology Data Portal, account SP-2347. https://cavebiology.org/species/cylisticus-convexus/ (accessed 7 September 2026).
Data sources and funding are listed in the Acknowledgments.
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