''Platyarthrus hoffmannseggii'' is a species of

woodlouse A woodlouse (plural woodlice) is an isopod crustacean from the polyphyleticThe current consensus is that Oniscidea is actually triphyletic suborder Oniscidea within the order Isopoda. They get their name from often being found in old wood. ...

which is closely associated with ants' nests, particularly those of '' Lasius flavus'', ''

Lasius niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesMyrmica ''Myrmica'' is a genus of ants within the subfamily Myrmicinae. It is widespread throughout the temperate regions of the Holarctic and high mountains in Southeast Asia. The genus consists of around 200 known species and additional subspecies, ...

'', where it feeds on ant droppings or

mildew Mildew is a form of fungus. It is distinguished from its closely related counterpart, mould, largely by its colour: moulds appear in shades of black, blue, red, and green, whereas mildew is white. It appears as a thin, superficial growth consi ...

. It is white, long,Description, distribution, and habitat
/ref> and has a distinctive oval shape and short antennae. Its distribution appears to follow those of the ants with which it lives, and the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the 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 and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

are the north-westerly limit of its range. Elsewhere, ''P. hoffmannseggii'' extends south to the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

. accessed through the NERC Open Access Research Archive (NORA) It is found outside Europe in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, and has been introduced to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. ''Platyarthrus hoffmannseggii'' should not be confused with '' Porcellio hoffmannseggii,'' who's binomial name is also abbreviated as ''P. hoffmannseggii'' and described by the same researcher. Preserved specimens are also sometimes confused with dwarf isopods of the genus

Trichoniscidae Trichoniscidae are a family of isopods (woodlice), including the most abundant British woodlouse, '' Trichoniscus pusillus''. Most species of woodlice that have returned to an aquatic or amphibian way of life belong to this family. Several speci ...

, due to their small size and similar appearance.

Physical Characteristics

''P. hoffmannseggii'' is not only very small, but also considered blind. This may be due to the fact that it typically lives in ant hills, in total darkness. This species reaches about 5mm in length (about 2 inches).

References

Woodlice Crustaceans described in 1833 {{Isopod-stub