Porcellio hoffmannseggii

Porcellio hoffmannseggii, commonly called the titan isopod, is a species of woodlouse of the genus Porcellio described in 1833. This very large species is native to the southern Iberian Peninsula, Morocco and the Balearic Islands.^[1]

Porcellio hoffmannseggii
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Malacostraca
Order:	Isopoda
Suborder:	Oniscidea
Family:	Porcellionidae
Genus:	Porcellio
Species:	P. hoffmannseggii
Binomial name
Porcellio hoffmannseggii Brandt, 1833

Porcellio hoffmannseggii should not be confused with Platyarthrus hoffmannseggii, which is also a woodlouse, from the genus Platyarthrus.^[2] 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 isopod species, with adults able to grow to be over 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) 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 than females.

Porcellio hoffmannseggii is a species with multiple identified subspecies. There are current 4 identified subspecies, which are as follows:^[3]

List of subspecies

Trinomial designation	Classification author and date	Notes on subspecies
Porcellio hoffmannseggii hoffmannseggii	Brandt, 1833
Porcellio hoffmannseggii nemethi	Paulian de Felice, 1941
Porcellio hoffmannseggii sordidus	Budde-Lund, 1885	Considered to be a subspecies that inhabits the western Balearic Islands.[4]
Porcellio hoffmannseggii tamarisis	Verhoeff, 1937

Behavior and reproduction

Porcellio hoffmannseggii does not conglobate like some of their other isopod cousins, commonly called pillbugs. It has been observed to guard their young after birth. The species is known to be very territorial for an isopod, which makes captive culturing more difficult.^[5]

Distribution and habitat

Porcellio hoffmannseggii is common in the Oued Laou region of north-eastern Morocco, when compared to the distribution of other isopod species in the country.^[6] In addition to southern Spain and northern Morocco, this species is also native to Portugal.^[7]

Compared to other Porcellio species, this species has been observed to prefer drier environments while kept in captivity.^[5]