Ballena jorobada vs Common Pill Woodlouse

Megaptera novaeangliae compared with Armadillidium vulgare

Key Differences

• Ballena jorobada is Vulnerable while Common Pill Woodlouse is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Ballena jorobada	Common Pill Woodlouse
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (cordados)	Arthropoda (artrópodos)
Class	Mammalia (mamíferos)	Malacostraca (Crustaceans)
Order	Cetacea (Whales & Dolphins)	Isopoda (Isopoda)
Family	Balaenopteridae (Rorquals)	Armadillidiidae
Genus	Megaptera (Humpback Whales)	Armadillidium
Species	Megaptera novaeangliae	Armadillidium vulgare

Evolutionary Relationship

Ballena jorobada and Common Pill Woodlouse share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Ballena jorobada

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~80.0K

Trend: Increasing ↑

Common Pill Woodlouse

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Ballena jorobada	Common Pill Woodlouse
Diet	Carnivore	—
Average Lifespan	50 years	—
Average Length	15.0 m	—
Average Weight	30.0 t	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Ballena jorobada

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, among 11 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (5 countries), and South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela). Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Common Pill Woodlouse

Habitat

Typically found in marine, freshwater, and terrestrial environments.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Asia (Japan), Europe (6 countries), and North America (United States). Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Ballena jorobada

Entre las ballenas grandes más acrobáticas, las ballenas jorobadas son célebres por sus complejos y estremecedores cantos entonados por los machos durante la temporada reproductiva, que pueden durar horas y evolucionar con el tiempo. Alcanzando 16 metros y 30 toneladas, realizan las migraciones más largas de cualquier mamífero. Se encuentran en todos los océanos y se alimentan de krill y peces pequeños mediante la técnica cooperativa de pesca con red de burbujas.

Common Pill Woodlouse

<em>Armadillidium vulgare</em>, the common pill woodlouse, is a terrestrial isopod crustacean in the family Armadillidiidae, widely recognised for its ability to roll into a tight sphere when disturbed, a defensive behaviour that gives it the common name "pill bug" or "roly-poly." Unlike most crustaceans, it is fully adapted to life on land, breathing through modified gill-like structures that must remain moist. The species inhabits a broad range of environments, typically occurring under rocks, leaf litter, decaying wood, and in gardens and agricultural land, where it feeds on decomposing organic matter, playing an important role in nutrient cycling. <em>Armadillidium vulgare</em> is distributed across Europe, parts of Asia including Japan, South Africa, and North America including the United States, reflecting its success as a cosmopolitan species often transported inadvertently by human activity. It is assessed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List. Biological traits such as average lifespan, precise body dimensions, and detailed dietary composition across its range remain poorly documented in the scientific literature. Females brood their young in a marsupium, and the species is capable of parthenogenesis under certain conditions, contributing to reproductive flexibility.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 5 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇸🇪 Sweden