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Cave Biology Data Portal
Subterranean biodiversity of North America and around the globe
AnimaliaArthropodaCrustaceaMalacostracaIsopodaCylisticidaeCylisticus

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

G1G2G3G4G5▲

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.

Spotted something wrong on this page? Report a correction. Accounts are compiled from many sources and corrections from people who know the group are the most useful email we get.

Cave Biology Data Portal

Species accounts, distributions, and conservation status for the subterranean fauna of North America and around the globe, with resources for the cave and karst research community.

Text and data CC BY 4.0. Images all rights reserved unless stated.

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