Philoscia muscorum, the common striped woodlouse or fast woodlouse, is a common European woodlouse. It is widespread in Europe, the British Isles and is found from southern Scandinavia to Ukraine and Greece. It has also spread to Washington and many states in New England, also the mid-Atlantic states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as well as Nova Scotia.
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 Twelve subspecies 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
References