''Armadillidium maniatum'' is a European

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

woodlouse Woodlice are terrestrial isopods in the suborder Oniscidea. Their name is derived from being often found in old wood, and from louse, a parasitic insect, although woodlice are neither parasitic nor insects. Woodlice evolved from marine isopods ...

endemic to

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

Taxonomy

''Armadilliidum maniatum'' was described in 2006, based on only 3 specimens (2 males and 1 female) that were collected in a beach of southern

Peloponnese The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...

during May 1980.

Description

''Armadillidium maniatum'' is a medium to large sized species, reaching maximum dimensions of about 17 x 8.7 mm. Its tergites are completely smooth and the body lacks pigmentation, except for the

eyes An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...

, which are black, and the hind margins of the pereion-tergites, which bear dark stripes. The frontal shield doesn't surpass the anterior edge of the head, distinctly bends backwards and tightly fits to the frontal part of the head. The secondary antennae have a conspicuously enlarged third segment, trapezoidal lobes and

flagellum A flagellum (; : flagella) (Latin for 'whip' or 'scourge') is a hair-like appendage that protrudes from certain plant and animal sperm cells, from fungal spores ( zoospores), and from a wide range of microorganisms to provide motility. Many pr ...

articles of equal length. The hind margins of the first pair of epimera are deeply and sharply angled. The

telson The telson () is the hindmost division of the body of an arthropod. Depending on the definition, the telson is either considered to be the final segment (biology), segment of the arthropod body, or an additional division that is not a true segm ...

is wider than long, has straight sides and a rounded tip. Concerning the sexual characters of the male, the first

pereiopod The anatomy of a decapod consists of 20 body segments grouped into two main body parts: the cephalothorax and the pleon (abdomen). Each segment – often called a somite – may possess one pair of appendages, although in various groups these m ...

has a ventral brush of spines on the carpus and, to a lesser degree, on the merus. The ischium of the seventh pereiopod is ventrally straight, bare at the apical part and with a proximal band of hairy

seta In biology, setae (; seta ; ) are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms. Animal setae Protostomes Depending partly on their form and function, protostome setae may be called macrotrichia, chaetae, ...

e at its basal part. The coxopodite of the same leg has a stripe of hairs at its middle part. The posterior lobe of the exopodite of the first

pleopod The anatomy of a decapod consists of 20 body segments grouped into two main body parts: the cephalothorax and the pleon (abdomen). Each segment – often called a somite – may possess one pair of appendages, although in various groups these m ...

is triangular and the apex of the endopodite is straight .

Distribution

''Armadillidium maniatum'' is only known from the

type series In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes t ...

, collected in southern Peloponnese. Particularly, the species was found in the beach of Vatheia, which comprises one of the southernmost regions of the

Mani Peninsula The Mani Peninsula (), also long known by its medieval name Maina or Maïna (), is a geographical and cultural region in the Peloponnese of Southern Greece and home to the Maniots (), who claim descent from the ancient Spartans. The capital ci ...

Ecology

Almost nothing is known about the ecology of ''Armadillidium maniatum''. Based on the

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

where the type series was collected (beach) and the almost complete lack of pigmentation, it is speculated that the species lives an endogean type of life. '' Armadillidium album'', another rarely encountered

littoral The littoral zone, also called litoral or nearshore, is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely i ...

species of the genus, shows the same combination of characters (decreased pigmentation and endogean type of life), supporting this hypothesis.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3343459 Woodlice Woodlice of Europe Crustaceans described in 2006