All Porcellionides pruinosus and Porcellionides floria in the United States should be left at genus level.

All Porcellionides pruinosus and Porcellionides floria should be left at the genus level. Most if not all of the identifications here on iNaturalist are based on the size of the white banding on the antennae or orange-tented uropods to distinguish the two Porcellionides sp. in the United States; however, this has been proven to be very inconsistent within populations.

It's more reliable to look at the length vs. width of the flagellum and the apical peduncle article. P. pruinosus have much shorter and stubbier peduncles and flagella, contrasting with P. floria which has noticeably longer and skinnier peduncles and flagella. Granted, this is still subject to variation and not all populations in the Porcellionides pruinosus "complex" have been examined for this either. Currently, the only way to tell these two apart, aside from molecular sequencing, is with a mixture of the tubercles, scale setae, and antennae; the former is difficult to judge and the second needs a very high magnification microscope. Even then you can't be certain due to how poorly defined P. pruinosus and P. floria are. For this reason; I would recommend keeping all Porcellionides pruinosus and Porcellionides floria at the genus level.

Posted on November 12, 2022 04:52 PM by blastcat