Trachelipus rathkii (Brandt, 1833)

Trachelipus rathkii (Brandt, 1833) View in CoL

MATERIAL EXAMINED. 2 ♂♂, 6 ♀♀ (including 1 ♀ with marsupium) (ASU), Russia, southwestern Siberia, Altai Province, Barnaul, “Izumrudnyi” Park , Acer and Populus , 6.06. 2014 ; 6 ♂♂, 1 ♀ (with marsupium) (ASU),

Russia, Altai Prov., Barnaul, “Nagornyi” Park,

Pinus sibirica , Abies sibirica , Acer , 19.06.2014; 1 ♀ (ASU), Russia, Altai Prov., Barnaul, “Yubileinyi” Park , July 2014, soil sampling (10–20 cm), all leg. A.A. Streltsova; 8 ♂♂, 7 ♀♀, 5 juv. (ASU), Russia, Altai Prov., Barnaul, “Lesnaya Skazka” Park, Acer and Betula , under planks, stones, in litter , 1.05.2015; 8 ♂♂, 6 ♀♀ (ASU), Russia, Altai Prov., Pervomaiskii Distr., Beryozki Railway Station , open hand-made grounds , 11.05.2015; 1 ♂, 20 ♀♀ (including 19 ♀♀ with marsupia) (ASU), Russia, Altai Prov., Barnaul, M.A. Lisavenko Research Institute for Horticulture of Siberia , summer hothouse , 16.06.2015; 1 ♀ (with marsupium) (ASU), same locality, heated hothouse , 16.06.2015; 3 ♂♂, 14 ♀♀ (including 10 ♀♀ with marsupia) (ASU), same locality, open hand-made grounds , 16.06.2015, all leg. P.S. Nefediev.

DISTRIBUTION. Being European in origin, T. rathkii , due to the association with man, has become widespread throughout most of Europe (except the Mediterranean territories), inhabiting Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Great Britain including the Channel Islands, Iceland, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Romania, Moldova, former Yugoslavia including Slovenia, Serbia and Macedonia, Bulgaria, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Abkhazia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, northwestern European Russia (the Leningrad, Belgorod, Kursk, Tver, Kaluga, Moscow, Penza, Saratov and Tula areas, the Mari El Republic and the Republic of Mordovia) and southern European Russia (the Rostov-on-Don Area and the Republic of Crimea); also introduced to the Americas ( Canada, USA and Brazil) ( Vandel, 1962; Karaman, 1966; Harding, Sutton, 1985; Leistikow, Wägele, 1999; Schmalfuss, 2003; Khisametdinova, 2011; Kuznetsova, Gongalsky, 2012; Boxshall, 2013).

REMARKS. The basically European genus

Trachelipus Budde-Lund, 1908 , and the widespread species T. rathkii (Brandt, 1833) , as well as the family Trachelipodidae they belong to, are formally new to the isopod fauna of the Asian part of Russia. In Asian Russia, T. rathkii dwells in anthropogenic and semi-natural habitats such as hothouses and city parks in the city of Barnaul and on open private grounds in the Pervomaiskii District, all within the Altai Province. At the same time, Khisametdinova (2009) refers this species to a group of misanthropes which cannot stand human neighbourhood. It seems to be the most widespread and abundant terrestrial woodlouse in southwestern Siberia.

Contrary to Khisametdinova’s (2009) records from European Russia, this species is frequently sampled in cities in Central and Northern Europe. Trachelipus rathkii is common in Vilnius, Lithuania ( Vilisics et al., 2012), in Helsinki, Finland ( Vilisics, Terhivuo, 2009) or in Olomouc, Czech Republic ( Riedel et al., 2009). At the northern periphery of its distribution in central Finland, this species occurs exclusively in anthropogenic habitats ( Vilisics, Terhivuo, 2009). Also its occurrences in North America are associated with human settlements (e.g. Hornung et al., 2015). The highest surface activity is controlled by high temperature and high humidity. In cold and/or dry months, T. rathkii inhabits deeper soil layers and shelters. Trachelipus rathkii is a typical alien species as demonstrated by its populations found in plantations of non-native trees ( Farkas et al., 2013) and its indiscriminative feeding on native as well as non-native leaf litter ( Gerlach et al., 2014). Another typical character of such an expansive species lies in its high fecundity and the capability of females for storing sperm and utilizing its stock in repeated brood production ( Suzuki, Ziegler, 2005).