Atlas of European millipedes 2: Order Julida (Class Diplopoda)
Author
Kime, Richard Desmond
847CC68F-00BF-4DAB-8E53-B7A3384D66C1
Email: deskime 2 @ aol. com & urn: lsid: zoobank. org: author: 847 CC 68 F- 00 BF- 4 DAB- 8 E 53 - B 7 A 3384 D 66 C 1
deskime2@aol.com
Author
Enghoff, Henrik
FB09A817-000D-43C3-BCC4-2BC1E5373635
urn: lsid: zoobank. org: author: FB 09 A 817 - 000 D- 43 C 3 - BCC 4 - 2 BC 1 E 5373635 & Corresponding author: henghoff @ snm. ku. dk
henghoff@snm.ku.dk
text
European Journal of Taxonomy
2017
2017-08-29
346
1
299
journal article
21780
10.5852/ejt.2017.346
39926986-58ae-4af8-831c-689b7c8dbbc6
2118-9773
3866525
9600FFB8-3FB9-4522-B030-D5A6B145EDEB
295.
Leptoiulus belgicus
(Latzel, 1884
)
Iulus belgicus
Latzel, 1884
.
Julus gracilis
Rothenbühler, 1899
.
Leptoiulus albolineatus
auct.
Distribution
AT, BE,
CH
, DE, ES-SPA, FR-FRA, GB-CI, GB-GRB, GB-NI, IE, IT-ITA, LU, NL. Extended Atlantic from northern
Spain
to
Germany
.
Habitat
Eurytopic but showing a tendency to occur along river courses and in coastal areas, whether in forests, bushy areas, hedges, grasslands, or on sandbanks and dunes. Found in large numbers under stones in the intertidal zone on a sandy beach on the south coast of
Wales
(
Kime 2004
). It climbs readily, occurring in vegetation and moss on old roofs in Southwest
France
. Apparently thermophile, while it shows no clear preference for one
type
of soil, it favours warm sites in well-drained positions on limestone, light loams or sand. It was found in xeric scrub societies in
Saxony-Anhalt
,
Germany
(Voigtländer 2011), and has been regarded as a eurytopic xerobiont woodland species with preference for thermophilous oak woods. Known, too, from a well-drained
Fagus silvatica
forest with
Pinus
and
Cytisus
at an altitude of just below
1000 m
in the Haute
Loire
Department of
France
, it has been recorded at
1100 m
in
Spain
(
Kime 1990
) and
1800 m
on a south-facing slope in
Switzerland
(
Pedroli-Christen 1993
). Sometimes on spoil heaps of old coal mines.
L. belgicus
is most active in late summer and autumn (
Morgan 1989
;
Pedroli-Christen 1993
;
Kime 1997
).
Remarks
According to the literature it has a highly patchy distribution, more than might be deduced from its supposed preferences. Of the many regions investigated, some have yielded many records and others scarcely any. In
Italy
, reported only near Aosta (
Manfredi 1937
) and doubted by
Strasser (1978a)
. It is found nearby in the Upper Rhône Basin.
The white dorsal stripe mentioned in its description is not always present; moreover, marbled specimens possessing absolutely typical gonopods have been found in
France
. Its regional variability and abundance not only, but particularly in SW
France
, Benelux and SW
England
, together with S
Wales
, suggest that it is a relict species indicative of survival during glacial times.