Porcellionides elegans (Pollo Zorita, 1982)

Figs 2B, 3B, 4E–H, 6–7, Table 1

Metoponorthus elegans Pollo Zorita, 1982: 169, figs 1–2.

Material examined

PORTUGAL – Évora • 1 ♀; Alandroal; 38.7036° N, 7.3995° W; 2 Dec. 2022; L.P. Da Silva leg.; LPS559 • 1 ♂; same collection data as for preceding; LPS560a • 2 ♀♀; same collection data as for preceding; LPS560b • 1 ♀; same collection data as for preceding; LPS562 • 1 ♂; Alandroal; 38.7036° N, 7.3998° W; 2 Dec. 2022; L.P. Da Silva leg.; LPS565 • 1 ♂; Alandroal; 38.7037° N, 7.3997° W; 2 Dec. 2022; L.P. Da Silva leg.; LPS566 • 2 ♀♀; Vila Viçosa; 38.7542° N, 7.4098° W; 3 Dec.2022; L.P. Da Silva leg.; LPS571 • 1 ♀; Vila Viçosa; 38.7555° N, 7.4105° W; 3 Dec. 2022; L.P. Da Silva leg.; LPS576 . – Portalegre • 1 ♂; Anta de Valmor; 38.8408° N, 7.1882° W; 2 Dec. 2022; L.P. Da Silva leg.; LPS555 • 1 ♂; Anta de Valmor; 38.8407° N, 7.1881° W; 2 Dec.2022; L.P. Da Silva leg.; LPS556 • 1 ♀; Anta de Valmor; 38.8405° N, 7.1882° W; 2 Dec. 2022; L.P. Da Silva leg.; LPS557 • 1 ♂; Casa Branca; 38.9291° N, 7.8100° W; 3 Dec. 2022; L.P. Da Silva leg.; LPS586 • 1 ♀; same collection data as for preceding; LPS587 .

SPAIN – Ávila • 15 ♂♂, 12 ♀♀; La Adrada; 5 May 1982; A. Pollo leg.; MNCN 20.04/7274 • 3 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀; Piedralaves; 21 May 1982; A. Pollo leg.; MNCN 20.04/7190 • 3 ♂♂, 5 ♀♀; Piedralaves; 27 Nov. 1984; E. Ortiz de Vega leg.; MNCN 20.04/8150 • 5 ♂♂, 7 ♀♀; Piedralaves; 21 Oct. 1982; A. Pollo leg.; MNCN 20.04/7306 . – Cáceres • 2 ♀♀; Almoharín; 14 Apr. 1979; C. Cabrerizo leg.; MNCN 20.04/9709 • 1 ♂; Guadalupe; 20 Mar. 1966; E. Ortiz de Vega leg.; MNCN 20.04/9874 • 1 ♀; Villar del Pedroso; 9 Oct. 2021; J. Cifuentes leg.; JC485 • 6 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀; Villar del Pedroso; 16 Oct. 2020; J. Cifuentes leg.; JC490. – Madrid • 6 ♂♂, 10 ♀♀; Aldea del Fresno; 1 Apr. 1953; E. Ortiz de Vega leg.; MNCN 20.04/9590 .

Remarks

The illustration of the male exopod of the pleopod I in Arcangeli (1936), as part of his redescription of Porcellio (Porcellionides) molleri, allowed Pollo Zorita (1982, 1986a) to identify the specimens studied by Arcangeli (1936) as belonging to the species Porcellionides elegans, a species she described herself. To aid in the identification of this species, it can be noted that its integument shows pronounced granulations (Fig. 6, Table 1). The noduli laterales shift their location from the anterior region on the first pereonites towards the posterior region and edge, particularly in the last three pereonites (Figs 2B, 6B). The scale-setae are triangular with long tips (Fig. 3B). It lacks the transverse ridges on the pereonites (Fig. 6, Table 1). In males, the carpus of the pereopod 1 has a brush of setae, and the exopod of the pleopod I has a large notch on the posterior inner tip (Figs 4E, 6C), while the exopod of the pleopod II is triangular, almost as wide as it is long (Figs 4F, 6D). In females, the pleopodal lungs of the exopods in the first two pairs lack notches (Fig. 4G–H), similar to the males.

Distribution

Only known from the Iberian Peninsula in the Portuguese districts of Beja: Beja (Arcangeli 1936; Pollo Zorita 1982, 1986a); and the Spanish provinces of Badajoz: Don Benito (Garcia et al. 2021); Cáceres: Trujillo and Zorita (Garcia et al. 2021); Madrid: Guadalix de la Sierra (Pollo Zorita 1982, 1986a, 2015); Toledo: San Bartolomé de las Abiertas (Pollo Zorita 1982, 1986a, 2015).

It is recorded for the first time in the Portuguese districts of Évora and Portalegre and the Spanish province of Ávila (Fig. 7).