Southern Pill Woodlouse Armadillidium depressum

I found this large woodlouse in the shower while visiting Kent. I initially identified it as depressum using the Stephen Hopkins FSC key but subsequently started to doubt myself and wonder if it could instead be Nosey Pill Woodlouse Armadillidium nasatum before eventually settling on it being depressum after all. My first challenge was convincing myself that I had interpreted the splayed pleonites correctly. On my specimen this matched the diagram for depressum and not for nasatum, but some photos of nasatum online look rather similar to me. Although the individual pleonites were broader at the ends than in the middle, I couldn't really see that the whole thing looked flanged when looking at it from behind, although this did seem to be more apparent when looking from in front. The scutellum projection seemed too broad for nasatum but more shaped like a shallow triangle which didn't seem quite right for depressum either. However it looked similar to other images of depressum online, and when examined from different angles it began to look more like I expected it to in depressum. Viewed from above and compared to photos of both species it became clear that it was indeed too wide for nasatum and ok for depressum.

I found it quite difficult to get it to coil up into a ball but did eventually manage.

Southern Pill Woodlouse Armadillidium depressum, Cooper Street Drove near Ash (Kent, UK), 4th May 2026