Philoscia muscorum

Philoscia muscorum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Order: Isopoda
Family: Philosciidae
Genus: Philoscia
Species: P. muscorum
Binomial name
Philoscia muscorum
(Scopoli, 1763) [1]

Philoscia muscorum, the common striped woodlouse[2] or fast woodlouse,[3] is a common European woodlouse. It is widespread in Europe, the British Isles and is found from southern Scandinavia to the Ukraine and Greece.[4] It has also spread to Washington and many states in New England, also the mid-Atlantic states of PA and NJ, as well as Nova Scotia.[4]

Description

P. muscorum may reach 11 millimetres (0.43 in) in length, with a shiny body which is mottled and greyish-brown in colour.[3] The fast woodlouse, as its name suggests tends to run about faster than other common species; its body is raised up off the ground rather more than the others and the head is always very dark in colour.

Classification

Twelve subspecies are recognised:[1]

  • Philoscia muscorum albescens Collinge, 1918
  • Philoscia muscorum aureomaculata Collinge, 1918
  • Philoscia muscorum biellensis Verhoeff, 1936
  • Philoscia muscorum dalmatia Verhoeff, 1901
  • Philoscia muscorum frigidana Verhoeff, 1928
  • Philoscia muscorum maculata Collinge, 1918
  • Philoscia muscorum marinensis Verhoeff, 1933
  • Philoscia muscorum muscorum (Scopoli, 1763)
  • Philoscia muscorum rufa Legrand, 1943
  • Philoscia muscorum standeni Collinge, 1917
  • Philoscia muscorum triangulifera Verhoeff, 1918
  • Philoscia muscorum virescens Collinge, 1917

See also

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, June 16, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.