''Porcellio hoffmannseggii'', commonly called the titan isopod, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

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. ...

of the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Porcellio ''Porcellio'' is a genus of woodlice in the family Porcellionidae. These crustaceans are found essentially worldwide. A well-known species is the common rough woodlouse, '' Porcellio scaber''. Most of the hundreds of ''Porcellio'' species were ...

'' described in 1833. This very large species is native to the southern

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

, Morocco and the Balearic Islands. ''Porcellio hoffmannseggii'' should not be confused with ''

Platyarthrus hoffmannseggii ''Platyarthrus hoffmannseggii'' is a species of woodlouse which is closely associated with Ant colony, ants' nests, particularly those of ''Yellow meadow ant, Lasius flavus'', ''Black garden ant, Lasius niger'' and species of ''Myrmica'', where i ...

'', which is also a woodlouse, from the genus '' Platyarthrus.'' These two species share the same abbreviated binomial name of ''P. hoffmannseggii'', which is a potential source of confusion. ''Porcellio hoffmannseggii'' may be listed with incorrect spelling as ''Porcellio hoffmannseggi,'' missing the final 'i'.

Appearance and physical characteristics

''Porcellio hoffmannseggii'' is considered to be one of the largest

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on or near the ground, as opposed to ...

isopod species, with adults able to grow to be over 1.5" (''or 4cm'') long. They are typically dark grey or black, with a thin white skirt around the edge of their body. Males of this species have longer

uropods 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 ...

than females. ''Porcellio hoffmannseggii'' is a species with multiple identified

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

. There are current 4 identified subspecies, which are as follows:

Behavior and reproduction

This species does not conglobate like some of their other Isopod cousins, commonly called

pillbugs Armadillidiidae is a family of woodlice, a terrestrial crustacean group in the order Isopoda. Unlike members of some other woodlice families, members of this family can roll into a ball, an ability they share with the outwardly similar but unr ...

. It has been observed to guard their young after birth. This species is known to be very territorial for an Isopod, which makes captive culturing more difficult.

Distribution and habitat

''Porcellio hoffmannseggii'' is common in the

Oued Laou Oued Laou ( ar, واد لاو, Berber: Asif en Law) is a small town located in northern Morocco on the Mediterranean coast. The two main cities nearby are Tetouan to the northwest and Chefchaouen at the southwest. In 2004 the town had 8,383 inha ...

region of north-eastern

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

, when compared to the distribution of other isopod species in the country. In addition to southern Spain and northern Morocco, this species is also native to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. Compared to other ''Porcellio'' species, this species has been observed to prefer drier environments while kept in captivity.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2043619 Porcellionidae Crustaceans described in 1833