---
title: "Common Shiny Woodlouse"
description: "Oniscus asellus — Other animals. Oniscus asellus, the common woodlouse, is one of the largest and most common species of woodlouse native to the British Isles and Western and Northern Europe, growing to 16 millimetres (0.63 in) long and 6 millimetres (0.24 in) wide."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/common-shiny-woodlouse
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Common Shiny Woodlouse

> Oniscus asellus — Other animals. Oniscus asellus, the common woodlouse, is one of the largest and most common species of woodlouse native to the British Isles and Western and Northern Europe, growing to 16 millimetres (0.63 in) long and 6 millimetres (0.24 in) wide.

- Scientific name: *Oniscus asellus*
- Category: `other` (Other animals)
- Habitats: `forest` (Forest), `urban` (Towns & gardens)
- iNaturalist observations: 46728
- Wikidata: [Q1573371](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1573371)
- iNaturalist taxon: [48284](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/48284)

## Names

- en: Common Shiny Woodlouse
- de: Mauerassel
- es: Cochinilla brillante
- fr: Aselle des murs
- nl: Kelderpissebed
- pl: Stonoga murowa

## Countries with the most observations

US (14703), GB (7446), CA (7415), DE (4222), FR (3117), DK (1332), NL (1176), PL (1077), SE (658), BE (520), AT (490), CH (427)

## Summary

Oniscus asellus, the common woodlouse, is one of the largest and most common species of woodlouse native to the British Isles and Western and Northern Europe, growing to 16 millimetres (0.63 in) long and 6 millimetres (0.24 in) wide. Oniscus asellus was first described by Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus in his Systema Naturae, and is a very common species, representing in Britain "the archetypal 'woodlouse' familiar to the general public". It lives in a great variety of habitats, but favours damp conditions, especially under rotting wood. O. asellus is also a successfully synanthropic species, dwelling in gardens…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oniscus_asellus

## Photo

![Common Shiny Woodlouse](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/common-shiny-woodlouse/medium.jpg)

Photo: rosehip177 · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/259332253

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/common-shiny-woodlouse?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).