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2008 California Academy of Sciences   cc-by-nc-sa-3.0

Isopoda (Isopods) is an order of typical crustaceans. There are 10425 species of Isopods, in 1561 genera and 137 families. It includes groups like Woodlice. They rely on drag powered swimming to move around.

  • URI: https://eol.org/schema/terms/drag_based_swimming
  • Definition: Drag swimmers use a cyclic motion where they push water back in a power stroke, and return their limb forward in the return or recovery stroke. When they push water directly backwards, this moves their body forward, but as they return their limbs to the starting position, they push water forward, which will thus pull them back to some degree, and so opposes the direction that the body is heading. This opposing force is called drag. The return-stroke drag causes drag swimmers to employ different strategies than lift swimmers. Reducing drag on the return stroke is essential for optimizing efficiency.
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EOL has data for 13 attributes, including:

Known occurrences, collected specimens and observations of isopods. View this species on GBIF
2008 California Academy of Sciences   cc-by-nc-sa-3.0

Isopod Habitats

The environments in which many isopods species are known to live. Select an environment to see its isopods species checklist.