Leptoiulus simplex (Verhoeff, 1894)

Kime, Richard Desmond & Enghoff, Henrik, 2017, Atlas of European millipedes 2: Order Julida (Class Diplopoda), European Journal of Taxonomy 346, pp. 1-299 : 112

347. Leptoiulus simplex (Verhoeff, 1894)

Julus alemannicus simplex Verhoeff, 1894 .

Julus alemannicus glacialis Verhoeff, 1908 .

Leptoiulus simplex glacialis auct.

Leptoiulus marcomannius traunianus Verhoeff, 1913 .

Distribution

AT, BE, CH, DE, FR-FRA, HR, HU, IT-ITA, LU, SB, SI. Alpine and parts of Central Europe.

Habitat

Mainly alpine. In the Central High Alps it occurs mainly in grassland and lichen-heath with Empetrum at about 2200–2300 m (Meyer 1985), reaching as high as 3300 m. In Switzerland it is the most frequently encountered species in open alpine and open or closed subalpine habitats. It is often found in boggy areas at about 1500 m. At lower altitudes it is confined to cool and humid forests, often coniferous areas in the Black Forest, or Fagus woods, as in the Jura and Italy and again in some boggy areas (Meyer 1985; Pedroli-Christen 1993; Spelda 1999). Found in Erica cinerea cushions scattered with Fagus leaves in the montane zone (500–750 m) near Laveno in Italy ( Verhoeff 1930). Discovered in several coniferous and Fagus forests and in a raised bog in the Belgian Ardennes, all at about 550 m, but even lower down in the Viroinval and in the Moselle Valley in the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg ( Kime 2004). It has an unusually large altitudinal range of over 3000 m. Found under stones in pastures, in tree stumps, under rotten wood, moss and ferns in woodland.

Remarks

A glacial relict ( Schubart, 1934). The distribution is unusual; beyond the Alps it reaches Belgium to the northwest and Serbia to the southeast. Also recorded from Poland in the east by Enghoff & Kime (2009), but as Leptoiulus simplex marcommanius , which is presumably Leptoiulus noricus Verhoeff, 1913 . Its distribution in Poland is logical for L. noricus and not for L. simplex . These records are not shown on either map. Taxonomically close to L. alemannicus , its complicated taxonomic history was explained by Spelda (1999).