#4438 · 🦀 crabs & other crustaceans

Common Shiny Woodlouse

🇳🇱 Kelderpissebed ·Oniscus asellus

🦀 Crabs & other crustaceans 📍 in the Netherlands

10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

1. © Katja Schulz · CC BY 4.0
2. © Katja Schulz · CC BY 4.0
3. © Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas · CC BY 4.0
4. © Martin Grimm · CC BY-NC 4.0
5. Noordwijkerhout, Nederland:© Michel Langeveld · CC BY 4.0
6. 4384 KA Vlissingen, Nederland:© levi · CC BY-NC 4.0
7. Castricum, Nederland:© floris_heemskerk · CC BY-NC 4.0
8. 1325 ZA Almere, Nederland:© no rights reserved · CC0
9. Warmond, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands:© Michel Langeveld · CC BY 4.0
10. Assen, Ter Aardseweg, 9402 WE Assen, Nederland:© no rights reserved · CC0

what is it?

Oniscus asellus , the common woodlouse , is one of the largest and most common species of woodlouse in the British Isles and Western and Northern Europe, growing to lengths of 16 mm and widths of 6 mm.

base stats

NL sightings 1,190iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 48,235iNaturalist observations

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

Spotted 1,190 times in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: the #3 most seen of the crabs & other crustaceans in NL.
48,235 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Scientifically named in 1758 (268 years ago).

fact sheet

English: Common Shiny Woodlouse
Nederlands: Kelderpissebed
scientific name: Oniscus asellus
class: Malacostraca
order: Isopoda
family: Oniscidae
sightings in NL: 1,190
sightings in Europe: 23,619
sightings worldwide: 48,235
GBIF records in NL: 18,036
weight: —
length: —
lifespan: —
named: 1758

Sources: iNaturalist taxon 48284, Wikidata Q1573371, GBIF 5176315, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.