''Scutuloidea maculata'' is a species of marine

isopod Isopoda is an order of crustaceans that includes woodlice and their relatives. Isopods live in the sea, in fresh water, or on land. All have rigid, segmented exoskeletons, two pairs of antennae, seven pairs of jointed limbs on the thorax, an ...

s in the family Sphaeromatidae, first described by Charles Chilton in 1883.Poore, G.C.B.; Bruce, N. (2009) Isopoda (Crustacea). In: Gordon, D. (Ed.) (2009). New Zealand Inventory of Biodiversity. Volume One: Kingdom Animalia. 584 pp,Chilton, C. (1883) Further additions to our knowledge of the New Zealand Crustacea. Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand 15: 69–86., No subspecies are listed in the

Catalogue of Life The Catalogue of Life is an online database that provides an index of known species of animals, plants, fungi, and microorganisms. It was created in 2001 as a partnership between the global Species 2000 and the American Integrated Taxonomic Info ...

.''WoRMS Isopoda: World List of Marine, Freshwater and Terrestrial Isopod Crustaceans''. Schotte M., Boyko C. B, Bruce N. L., Poore G.C.B., Taiti S., Wilson G.D.F. (eds), 5 October 2010

Description and ecology

This species is recognised by having a single large plate as a

uropod Uropods are posterior appendages found on a wide variety of crustaceans. They typically have functions in locomotion. Definition Uropods are often defined as the appendages of the last body segment of a crustacean. An alternative definition sugge ...

. Females are often carried on the backs of the males of the species. ''Scutuloidea maculata'' can be visually distinguished from '' Scutuloidea kutu'', a similar species in appearance which is also found in New Zealand waters, by its chestnut brown colour, having a rounder body and eyes, as well as an apical notch on their

pleotelson The telson () is the posterior-most division of the body of an arthropod. Depending on the definition, the telson is either considered to be the final segment of the arthropod body, or an additional division that is not a true segment on accou ...

Distribution and habitat

''Scutuloidea maculata'' is found in the northern waters of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, where it lives in seaweeds, algae, sponges,

bryozoa Bryozoa (also known as the Polyzoa, Ectoprocta or commonly as moss animals) are a phylum of simple, aquatic invertebrate animals, nearly all living in sedentary colonies. Typically about long, they have a special feeding structure called a l ...

, hydroids in exposed reef formations, especially around red seaweeds such as ''Plocamium costatum'' and ''Osmundaria colensoi''. The species is much more commonly found than ''Scutuloidea kutu'', especially in the first two metres of the subtidal zone, seemingly preferring more exposed environments.

References

Crustaceans described in 1883 Sphaeromatidae Marine crustaceans of New Zealand Endemic fauna of New Zealand Endemic crustaceans of New Zealand {{isopod-stub