Armadillidium vulgare ( Latreille, 1804 )

Cifuentes, Julio, Robla, Jairo & Garcia, Lluc, 2024, Description of Armadillidium boalense sp. nov. from northern Spain, with remarks and a key of the genus in the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands (Isopoda: Oniscidea: Armadillidiidae), Zootaxa 5497 (1), pp. 83-99 : 95

Armadillidium vulgare ( Latreille, 1804)

Material examined

Spain • 84♂ and 127♀; Asturias, Oviedo; Barros leg.; MNCN 20.04/7892 . • 1♂ and 6♀; Asturias, Cangas del Narcea, Muniellos; 20 Aug. 1966; E. Ortiz de Vega leg.; MNCN 20.04/11551 . • 3♂ and 18♀; Asturias, Cangas del Narcea, Muniellos; 28 Aug. 1966; E. Ortiz de Vega leg.; MNCN 20.04/11553. • 2♂ and 5♀; Asturias, Llanes, Purón; 9 Aug. 1979; E. Ortiz de Vega leg.; MNCN 20.04/11537 . • 2♀; Asturias, Llanes, Purón; 19 Aug. 1979; E. Ortiz de Vega leg.; MNCN 20.04/11549. • 2♂, 5♀ and 2 inmature; Asturias, Llanes, Purón; 22 May. 1982; E. Ortiz de Vega leg.; MNCN 20.04/7389 . • 1♂ and 1♀; Asturias, Ribadeva, Pimiango; 6 Aug. 1984; J. Cifuentes leg.; JC145. • 6 specs; Asturias, Ribera de Arriba, Palomar; 43º18′29.66′′ N, 5º54′39.93′′ W; 130 m a.s.l.; 28 Aug. 2021; J. Robla leg.; hand collected under stones and roof tiles; CLLG . • 14 spec; Asturias, Grado, Somines; 43º22′0.29′′ N, 6º0′53.83′′ W; 204 m a.s.l.; 27 Sep. 2021; J. Robla leg.; hand collected under stones near a private house and in a Eucalyptus plantation ; CLLG . • 4 spec; Asturias, Oviedo, Pista Finlandesa; 43º23′8.73′′ N, 5º50′12.22′′ W; 303 m a.s.l.; 21 Aug. 2021; J. Robla leg.; hand collected under blue gum Eucalyptus globulus leaf litter and in a mixed forest mainly compose of Quercus robur ; CLLG. • 3 spec; Asturias, Gozón, Verdicio beach; 43º22′0.29′′ N, 6º0′53.83′′ W; 7 m a.s.l.; 27 Aug. 2020; J. Robla leg.; hand collected under stones close to the dunar system; CLLG . • 20 spec; Asturias, Mieres, Yana’l Monte (Turón); 43º12′24.36′′ N, 5º45′11.14′′ W; 303 m a.s.l.; 28 Aug. 2021; J. Robla leg.; hand collected under logs, trunks and leaf litter in a mixed forest composed by chestnut Castanea sativa Mill. and pedunculate oak; CLLG . • 5 spec; Asturias, Pola de Siero, El Rebollar Street; 43º23′39.90′′ N, 5º39′17.14′′ W; 239 m a.s.l.; 3 Sep. 2020; J. Robla leg.; hand collected in a meadow at night; • 5 spec; Asturias, Vegadeo, Piantón; 43º27′39.32′′ N, 7º1′43.95′′ W; 55 m a.s.l.; 13 Oct. 2021; D. Cabanillas leg.; hand collected in a private garden; CLLG . • 5 spec; Asturias, Selorio, Ría de Villaviciosa; 43º31′10.89′′ N, 5º23′2.72′′ W; 7 m a.s.l.; 24 Sep. 2021; J. Robla leg.; hand collected under a log in a marsh; CLLG . • 2 spec; Asturias, Coaña, Playa de Foxos; 43º33’19.7’’ N, 6º43’36.3’’ W; 0 m a.s.l.; 16 May. 2024; G. Sánchez-Jardón leg; hand collected under logs and stones in the sand of a beach; CJR. • 1 spec; Asturias, El Franco, Valdepares; 43º33’42.7’’ N, 6º52’3.6’’ W; 43 m a.s.l.; 19 May. 2024; G. Sánchez-Jardón leg; hand collected in a catch basin in the private garden of a house.

Remarks and ecology

A well-distributed species in Europe, the westernmost parts of Asia and some areas of north Africa. Furthermore, the most abundant and well distributed Armadillidium species throughout the Ibero-Balearic area. Species previously recorded in Asturias ( Schmölzer 1955; 1971; Vázquez-Felechosa & Anadón 2001; Vázquez-Felechosa et al. 2004) ( Fig. 1A ). We provide new localities that point out its broad ecological tolerance: forests (native and artificial plantations), meadows, marshes, riparian zones, coastal areas, and urban and rural areas. During the fieldwork, it has been observed that the dark coloration is the most commonly registered, but reddish or slightly pigmented specimens were sometimes detected. The most common species in urban areas. A. vulgare usually form large aggregations of individuals and are active during daytime, even in areas without great humidity.

Figures

FIGURE 1. A. Distribution of Armadillidium species in Asturias (red, within Spain seen in darker blue). B. Habitat of Armadillidium boalense sp. nov. in Os Chaos (Boal, Asturias). C. A more detailed photograph of the rocky wall where A. boalense sp. nov. specimens were found. D. Distribution of Armadillidium species in the group ‘pictum’ in northern Iberian Peninsula with the provinces with available data of northern Spain in gray. In both maps: New records (★) and bibliographic records (●). A. album (blue), A. assimile (orange), A. boalense sp. nov. (red), A. galiciense (green), A. nasatum (pink), A. pictum (purple), cf. A. pictum (purple?) and A. vulgare (black).