Allopodoiulus schioedtei (Verhoeff, 1898)

Figs 1–9

J. Schiödtei (sic!) Verhoeff, 1898: 128, figs 11–15. [in the newly established subgenus Allopodoiulus]

I. ( Allopodoiulus) Schiödtei (sic!)— Verhoeff (1899a: 748).

Allopodoiulus schiödtei (sic!)— Verhoeff (1926 – 1928: 519, 520, figs 54, 60); Attems (1929: 292, 328).

Allopodoiulus schioedtei — Strasser (1971b: 343); Mršić (1988: 39).

A. schioedtei — Strasser (1971a: 36); Mršić (1988: 39); Ceuca (1992: 423).

Allopodoiulus schiodtei (sic!)— Kime and Enghoff (2017: 13, 42, 203).

Microiulus luteus Attems, 1951: 257 syn. nov.

Microiulus luteus — Attems (1959: 380, figs 169–175).

Microiulus (M.) luteus — Strasser (1971b: 343).

M. (M.) luteus — Strasser (1971a: 35).

M. luteus — Ceuca (1992: 422).

X. (X.) luteus — Mršić (1987: 11, 17, figs 5, 8).

Xestoiulus luteus — Antić et al. (2013: 1572); Kime and Enghoff (2017: 23, 171, 298).

Diagnosis. The distinction between A. schioedtei and A. verhoeffi is based exclusively on comparison with the original description and drawing by Jawłowski (1931).

Velum is directed anteriad but obviously curved distad in A. schioedtei (vs. completely straight in A. verhoeffi); opisthomeral disal lobe strongly developed, massive, not directed anteriad in A. schioedtei (vs. distal lobe obviously smaller and somewhat directed anteriad in A. verhoeffi); phylacum poorly developed, not reaching the margin of solenomere in A. schioedtei (vs. phylacum well developed, reaching the margin of solenomere in A. verhoeffi).

Type material examined. All from BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA.

Lectotype ♂ hereby designated: microslide 1304 with leg pairs 1, 2 and 7 and gonopods; Travnik; ZMB12987. Glass vial: head capsule + fragments “ Allopodoiulus schioedtei Verh., Travnik Praep ., ehem Trockenmat . Etk Nr. 865”; ZSMA20060632.

Paralectotypes ● 2 ♂♂ microslide 1301 with leg pairs 1 and 7, possibly 2 pairs of leg pair 2 and one pair of gonopods; Trebević; ZMB12987a ● 1 ♂ microslide 1302 with leg pairs 1, 2 and 7, gonopods, and 2 additional legs; Trebević; ZMB12987b ● 1 ♂ microslide 1303 with leg pairs 1 and 3 and gonopods; Trebević; ZMB12987c ● 1 ♂, 1 ♀, 1 juvenile (glass vial and microslide); Trebević / Travnik; ZMB2294 ● 4 ♂♂, 5 ♀♀, 1 juvenile; Bosnia; NHMW MY2901 (parts of one male on microslide: gnathochilarium, leg pairs 1, 2, 6 and 7, penis and gonopods) ● 2 specimens in fragments (in tube), probably a dissected male: head and collum, mid- and posterior body parts; second specimen in 3 fragments, head capsule without collum “ Allopodoiulus schioedtei Verh., Trebevic Praep. Tier m, Originaldet .-etk (Typus—Verd.), ehem. Trocken m, Etk Nr. 865“; ZSMA20060632 ● 1 specimen in fragments (?male): head capsule without collum, anterior, mid- and posterior body parts “ Allopodoiulus schioedtei Verh., Trebevic Praep ., ehem Trockenmat . Etk Nr. 865”; ZSMA20060632 ● 1 ♀ missing posteriormost body rings “ Allopodoiulus schioedtei Verh., Travnik Praep ., ehem Trockenmat . Etk Nr. 865”; ZSMA20060632.

Syntypes of Microiulus luteus syn. nov. ● 3 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀ (glass vial and microslide); Brateljevica bei Kladanj; 10 July 1908; leg. K. Absolon; NHMW MY3283 (parts of one male on microslide: leg pairs 1 and 2, additional leg pair and gonopods).

Other material examined. BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA ● 1 ♂ microslide with gonopods and two legs; Bjelašnica; NHMW MY10617. All from SERBIA ● 1 ♂, 1 ♀ (used for SEM); Mionica, Paštrić, Ribnica, Kumova Česma, beech forest, in litter, ca 280 m a.s.l.; 44.20959, 20.09816; 3 August 2023; D. Stojanović, M. Šević leg.; IZB ● 1 ♂, 2 ♀♀; Kopaonik, Visoki Deo, Barska reka, near mixed beech and spruce forest, under stone, 1532 m a.s.l.; 43.300344, 20.77756; 23 September 2023; D. Stojanović leg.; IZB ● 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀; Tara, village Lukino selo, below Ravne stene, Spajići Lake, next to the forest road along a small stream “Baranski potok” that flows into Beli Rzav River, in litter of mixed forest, ca 760 m a.s.l.; 43.84761, 19.39683; 6 October 2023; D. Antić, M. Šević, D. Pavićević, I. Karaman leg.; IZB ● 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀, same locality as previous but 26 October 2024; D. Antić leg.; IZB ● 1 ♂; Uvac, Seništa, Klak, Male livade, right river bank, in litter, 770 m a.s.l.; 43.551101, 19.702736; 25 April 2024; D. Stojanović, V. Gojšina, M. Vujić leg.; IZB ● 1 ♂, 3 ♀♀; Uvac, village Rutoši, Krševi hill, near Monastery of St. Joakim and Ana, under stone and in litter, ca. 800 m a.s.l.; 43.535335, 19.720787; 22 May 2024; D. Antić, D. Stojanović, M. Šević leg.; IZB ● 1 ♂; Uvac, Grad hill, under stone and in litter, 790 m a.s.l.; 43.543896, 19.720388; 23 May 2024; D. Antić, D. Stojanović, M. Šević leg.; IZB .

Redescription (based on type and freshly collected material).

Size and number of body rings. Body slender, especially in males. Males 18–22.5 mm long, vertical diameter of largest body ring 1–1.2 mm, body with 51–57 podous rings + 1–2 apodous rings + telson. Females 20–30 mm long, vertical diameter of largest body ring 1.5–1.7 mm, body with 47–60 podous rings + 0–3 apodous rings + telson.

Colour (Figs 1–3). Old museum material completely faded, yelowish. Living animals with colour varying from dark yellowish to dark brown, with vental side paler. Legs and antennae greyish. Ommatidia blackish.

Head (Figs 3B, C, 4A–E). With a pair of frontal setae (Fig. 3C). Number of ommatidia 32–45 in 8–11 horizontal rows, ocular fields trapezoidal (Figs 3B, 4E). Labrum with three labral teeth, (8)9+(8)9 labral and 2+2 supralabral setae. Gnathochilarium (Fig. 4A–D) different in males and females; with a subdeltoid promentum shorter in males; lamellae linguales in both sexes with 2+2 setae; stipites with swollen distal parts with 3+3 long distolateral setae in both sexes, modified in males with a pair of bundles of ca. 10 long setae (Fig. 4A, D), distal halves with different texture, furrowed and nipplelike (Fig. 4A, C); lamellae linguales and distal halves of stipites almost glabrous (Fig. 4B). Antennae 1.6 mm long (in male 20 mm long), their length ca. 150% of vertical diameter of widest body ring. Antennomeres V and VI each with a terminal corolla of large sensilla basiconica bacilliformia; antennomere VII with a terminal corolla of small sensilla basiconica bacilliformia.

Body segments (Figs 3D, E, 4G–I). Entire metazonal area with longitudinal striations (Fig. 4G). Metazonal setae short, length of midbody setae ca 15% of vertical diameter of rings, ca 16 per ring. Ozopores clearly behind the suture (Fig. 4G). Telson (Figs 3E, 4H, I): epiproct with a long and acuminate process with a hyaline tip slightly bend ventrad; paraprocts rounded, each with ca 30 long setae over the entire surface; hypoproct subtriangular, with a short distal hyaline process (sometimes absent) and with 3+3 distomarginal setae.

Pleurotergum 7 in males (Fig. 4F). With a high, well-developed, rounded ventral lobe.

Legs in males (Figs 3C, 6A, B, 7). First pair of legs modified, hook-shaped, parallel to one another (Fig. 6A, B), with three complete podomeres; coxae with 1+1 distomesal seta; prefemora with 3+3 setae; femora, postfemora and tibiotarsi coalesced; femora with 4+4 setae; postfemora with 1+1 seta; no other peculiarities. Leg pair two (Figs 3C, 6A, 7C, D) somewhat swollen, coxae with large, longitudinal, ligulate, partially shriveled mesodistal processes anteriorly with scale-like structures, anterior parts of these processes far more developed than the posterior ones; coxae with anterobasal gland openings (Fig. 7C). Leg pair seven (Figs 3C, 6B, 7E, F) with well-developed, posterior coxal processes, somewhat dorsoventrally flatten, directed slightly laterad. No ventral pads or other peculiarities.

Penis (Figs 3C, 7C, D). Slender, with two short distal lobes.

Gonopods (Figs 6C–H, 8A–F). In situ concealed in the gonopodal sinus. Promere (p) slightly higher than mesomere (m), both being significantly surpassed by the opisthomere (o). Promere short and stocky, distaly rounded in anteroposterior view, with well-developed mesal lobe (mlo) somewhat slender in anteromesal view, and wide and distally rounded in mesolateral view, with a short posterolateral lobe (llo), posterior side scaly microsquamose distally, flagelum (f) long. Mesomere (m) rather straight, slightly curved anteriad with anterodistal, scaly thickening. Opisthomere robust, with well-developed distal lobe (l) fimbriate mesally, clearly protruding above all other gonopodal parts, solenomere (s) oriented anteriad, with lamellar, circular margins; velum (v) elongated, clearly curved distad, first half smooth, distal half fimbriate; mesal lamella (ml) well developed, somewhat axe shaped; proximomesal spine present; phylacum (ph) poorly developed, rounded, rising from anterior thickening

Vulvae (Fig. 8G, H). Elongated. Operculum (op) higher than bursa, with two poorly-developed distal lobes; bursa (b) with a long and narrow median cleft and a pair of long, hyaline distal lobes.

Remarks. After examination of the type material of Allopodoiulus schioedtei (Figs 2A, 5A, B, 6A–G) and Xestoiulus luteus syn. nov. (Figs 2B–D, 5C, 6H), we found that both taxa are conspecific thus Xestoiulus luteus syn. nov. should be treated as a junior subjective synonym. The latter species name should be deleted from the faunal lists of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia and the genus Allopodoiulus and the species Allopodoiulus schioedtei should be added to the Serbian fauna.

In his description of A. schioedtei, Verhoeff (1898) mentioned several localities. Interestingly, Strasser (1971a: 36) gave Trebević as the type locality. To our knowledge, no one has designated a lectotype and thereby fixed the type locality. Since Verhoeff’s four microslides from Berlin have clearly labelled localities, we have selected slide ZMB12987 with parts of a male from Travnik (Figs 5A (1304), 6A–E) as a lectotype, which we believe Verhoeff (1898: figs 11–15) used for illustrating the species in the original description. On the other three slides, the locality Trebević is indicated. Two of these three slides from the ZMB could possibly correspond to body parts from two vials found in the ZSM collection but this remains to be verified. Also, male body parts from one vial found in the ZSM collection could correspond to the lectotype slide in the ZMB collection.

Type locality. Travnik, Bosnia and Herzegovina, fixed by lectotype designation (Fig. 8) .

Distribution and ecology. This species is a characteristic Dinaric element with extension to Kopaonik Mountain, known from the hilly and mountainous areas of central and eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as western and south-western Serbia (Fig. 9). It is known mainly from the litter of various types of deciduous forests and shrubs; also near mixed beech and spruce forest under stone (Verhoeff 1898, 1899a; present study). One record from a cave (Attems 1951, 1959).