Wood Louse

[Tapiola]

A crustacean, apparently, and distantly related to the trilobite fossil I have upstairs. It's 520,000,000 years old. The fossil, that is.

Woodlice are known round these parts as "slaters".

[teamsaint]

A crustacean, apparently, and distantly related to the trilobite fossil I have upstairs. It's 520,000,000 years old. The fossil, that is.

Woodlice are known round these parts as "slaters".

Shame, a 520m year old house would be impressive. Kind of routine in a fossil. (no offence, obviously).

so anyway what are slaters known as round your way? could be confusing.

[Tapiola]

so what are slaters known as? could be confusing.

Hmmm, I see your point. Slaters would be known as roofers, perhaps, though that is not entirely specific nomenclature.

Have never seen a crustacean slater on a slate though, although this is perfectly possible, if the slate was damp.

[Lateralthinking1]

A crustacean, apparently, and distantly related to the trilobite fossil I have upstairs. It's 520,000,000 years old. The fossil, that is.

Woodlice are known round these parts as "slaters".

Great thread. Really worthwhile. Keep it going.

[Tapiola]

Great thread. Really worthwhile. Keep it going.

No problem!

*Bump*

Consider the horseshoe crab. Another very ancient species. Actual horseshoes are not made of wood.

[Tapiola]

These wood threads need some pruning. This one in particular is full of non-secateurs.

[Mary Chambers]

.

Woodlice are known round these parts as "slaters".

I idly looked up dialect words for the woodlouse, and found Cornish grammersow, Wiltshire chookypig and Berkshire cheeselog. I can't quite work out the connection with pigs (though the Cornish might mean something else, I suppose) or cheese.

[EdgeleyRob]

Now this is what I call a woodlouse.

[kernelbogey]

I idly looked up dialect words for the woodlouse, and found Cornish grammersow, Wiltshire chookypig and Berkshire cheeselog. I can't quite work out the connection with pigs (though the Cornish might mean something else, I suppose) or cheese.

In the Cornish town where I grew up, we Grammar School boys were known as Grammersows. Especially by those who had been selected for the Secondary Modern School . Shame on those selective days.

[Tapiola]

Now this is what I call a woodlouse.

I'll have nightmares tonight, Rob

[Tapiola]

I idly looked up dialect words for the woodlouse, and found Cornish grammersow, Wiltshire chookypig and Berkshire cheeselog. I can't quite work out the connection with pigs (though the Cornish might mean something else, I suppose) or cheese.

Thanks for this, Mary. Very interesting.

[french frank]

I'll have nightmares tonight, Rob

Looks more like a small lobster to me.

I was told that spiders feast on woodlice, and that when you find a flattened carapace (as I did in my front room this morning) it had probably been the victim of a spider attack. Is that right?

[Jonathan]

Also known as Isopods...

[Tapiola]

Also known as Isopods...

I have Creative Zen, myself...