Pleopodal lungs are an anatomical feature of terrestrial isopods and a component of their respiratory system. They are ancestrally derived from pleopodal gills, and they facilitate gas exchange on land. They perform a similar function as spiracles do in insects.[1][2]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ab/Porcellio_laevis_female_pleopoda.jpg/220px-Porcellio_laevis_female_pleopoda.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dc/Armadillidium_vulgare_%E2%80%93_pleon%2C_pleopodal_lungs.png/220px-Armadillidium_vulgare_%E2%80%93_pleon%2C_pleopodal_lungs.png)
en endopodite
ep epimeron
ex exopodite
lg pleopodal lung
pp pleopod
pr protopodite
pt pleotelson
ur uropod
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c9/FMIB_47699_Structure_of_the_Breathing_Organs_of_Porcellio_scaber.jpg/220px-FMIB_47699_Structure_of_the_Breathing_Organs_of_Porcellio_scaber.jpg)
Pleopodal lungs are identifiable on woodlice as white patches on the lower 5 segments (the pleon) on the ventral side (underside). The number of pleopodal lungs vary by species – they may have up to five pairs, or only two pairs as in Porcellio laevis; a minority of species lack pleopodal lungs entirely.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b "Woodlice: 'pleopodal lungs'". British Myriapod and Isopod Group. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
- ^ Unwin, Earnest Ewart (1931). "On the structure of the respiratory organs of the terrestrial Isopoda". Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania: 37–104. ISSN 0080-4703.