Leptoiulus kervillei (Brölemann, 1896)

Kime, Richard Desmond & Enghoff, Henrik, 2017, Atlas of European millipedes 2: Order Julida (Class Diplopoda), European Journal of Taxonomy 346, pp. 1-299 : 105

321. Leptoiulus kervillei (Brölemann, 1896)

Iulus kervillei Brölemann, 1896 .

Leptoiulus vanoyei De Queker, 1957 .

Distribution

BE, DE, FR-FRA, GB-CI, GB-GRB, LU, NL. Mild Atlantic.

Habitat

Very strictly linked with woodland, almost always deciduous ( Fagus , Quercus , Carpinus , Robinia ) with rich organic layers on the woodland floor (mull or mull-moder humus) and on loamy soils; scarce on very sandy or heavy clay substrates. There are records from old spoil heaps re-colonized by forest. In Britain, at the northern end of its range, it has a largely coastal distribution with a preference for noncalcareous loams ( Lee 2006). Its distribution in the west and north of France, Belgium, Luxemburg, NW Germany, the southern tip of the Netherlands and the south of England and Wales links it with a mild, oceanic climate. It is principally a lowland species, occurring up to about 600 m in the Massif Central. Adults are mainly found in the spring when they breed.

Remarks

The apparent preference for non-calcareous soils in Britain may be connected with the scarcity of calcareous soils in the southwest where it is most abundant. It does occur on chalk formations in the southeast as it does in France, especially in Fagus forest. Analyses made in Belgium, where it is closely associated with silty soil (“limon”) on which it is very common, suggested that L. kervillei is very specialized with regard to habitat. Climatic requirements aside, soil texture is the predominating factor, more important than pH ( Kime & Wauthy 1984; Kime et al. 1992).