Water boatman (athlete's foot)

Japanese: ミズムシ(水虫) - ミズムシ（英語表記）water boatman

An insect of the Hemiptera family Aselloides (illustration). It was likely given this name because it once lived in large numbers in any puddle, not just in ponds and rice paddies. In Europe and the United States, it is called the "underwater boat rower" because it swims by moving its well-developed oar-like hind legs back and forth at the same time. This aquatic stink bug is 9 to 11 mm long and has many light and dark horizontal stripes on the back of its body. When it swims to the water's surface to breathe, it breaks the water's surface with the bristles on its head, takes in air, and dives back underwater. Air is stored in the thorax and the back of the abdomen (under the wings), and it swims back-up.

Aselium (Hog Slater)

A crustacean of the family Asellodae in the order Isopoda. It is found throughout Japan, as well as in China, Sakhalin, and Siberia. It is commonly found in freshwater areas such as rice paddies and ponds, crawling among aquatic plants. It is small, about 1 cm long, with a long, oval body that is flattened dorsally and ventrally, and its back is gray-brown or black-brown with scattered light-colored spots. All abdominal segments and the telson segment are completely fused to form the abdominal telson segment, which looks like a single segment. Females lack the first abdominal appendage. The telson segment is located near the rear end of the abdominal telson segment and is long, large, and rod-shaped.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

半翅目ミズムシ科の昆虫（イラスト）。かつては池沼，水田をとわず，どんな水たまりにもたくさんすんでいたのでこの名がついたのであろう。またよく発達したオール状の後脚を，左右同時に前後させて泳ぐ姿から，欧米では水中のボートこぎと呼ぶ。体の背面には濃淡の横縞がたくさんあり，体長9～11mmの水生カメムシ。呼吸のため水面に泳ぎついたミズムシは頭頂の剛毛で水面を破り，空気を取り入れて再び水中に潜る。空気は胸部や腹部背面(翅の下)に蓄えられ，背を上にして泳ぐ。

ミズムシ【ミズムシ(水虫) hog slater】

等脚目ミズムシ科の甲殻類。日本各地のほか，中国，サハリン，シベリアにも分布している。水田，池沼など，各地の淡水にふつうに見られ，水草などの間をはっている。小型で体長1cmくらい，体は細長い小判状，背腹に扁平，背面は灰褐色あるいは黒褐色で，薄い色の斑紋を散在させている。全腹節と尾節とは完全に癒合して1節のように見える腹尾節になっている。雌では第1腹肢がない。尾肢は腹尾節の後端近くにあって，長く，大きい棒状をしている。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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