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''Philoscia muscorum'', the common striped woodlouse or fast woodlouse, is a common European
woodlouse
Woodlice are terrestrial isopods in the suborder Oniscidea. Their name is derived from being often found in old wood, and from louse, a parasitic insect, although woodlice are neither parasitic nor insects.
Woodlice evolved from marine isopods ...
. It is widespread in Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
, the British Isles
The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...
and is found from southern Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...
to Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
and Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
. It has also spread to Washington
Washington most commonly refers to:
* George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States
* Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A ...
and many states
State most commonly refers to:
* State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory
**Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country
**Nation state, a ...
in New England
New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
, also the mid-Atlantic states of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
and New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
, as well as Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...
.
Description
''P. muscorum'' may reach in length, with a shiny body which is mottled and greyish-brown in colour. The fast woodlouse is, as its name suggests, 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
Twelvesubspecies
In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...
are recognised:
*''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
Color variation
''P. muscorum'' has variable coloration. While most commonly brown or grey, it may also be yellow, red, or orange.
See also
*List of woodlice of the British Isles
Woodlice are the most species-rich group of terrestrial crustaceans. Of the 4,000 described species found worldwide, 35 species in 10 family (biology), families are native to the British Isles. One of these species, ''Acaeroplastes melanurus'', had ...
References
Woodlice Crustaceans described in 1763 Woodlice of Europe Taxa named by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli {{isopod-stub