Mesoniscus | |
---|---|
M. graniger | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | |
Phylum: | |
Subphylum: | |
Class: | |
Order: | |
Suborder: | |
Section: | Microcheta Schmalfuss, 1989
|
Family: | Mesoniscidae
Verhoeff, 1908
|
Genus: | Mesoniscus
Carl, 1906
|
Species | |
|
Mesoniscus is a genus of woodlice, placed in its own family, Mesoniscidae, and section, Microcheta. It contains two species – Mesoniscus alpicolus and Mesoniscus graniger – that live in Central and Eastern Europe, mostly in and around caves.
Mesoniscus is restricted to Central Europe and the Balkan Peninsula; the ranges of its two species do not overlap. [1]
M. alpicolus is found in Lombardy and the Northern Calcareous Alps. [1] In Austria, its range extends from the Karwendel near Innsbruck to the eastern edge of the Wienerwald, although it is also found in isolated pockets of Triassic and Silurian–Devonian limestone in Styria. [2]
M. graniger has a wider distribution than its congener; it is found in much of the Carpathians, including the Bihor and Banat mountains, and in the Dinaric Alps and Julian Alps. [1] It is also found in the Caves of Aggtelek Karst in Hungary. [3]
The first description of a woodlouse now in the genus Mesoniscus was in 1858, when Camill Heller described "Titanethes alpicolus" in 1858. [4] This was followed in 1865 by the description by János Frivaldszky (Ján Frivaldský) of the subspecies "Titanethes alpicolus graniger". [4]
Mesoniscus is the only genus in the family Mesoniscidae, [5] and is considered so distinct from other woodlice that the family is placed in a separate section, named Microcheta. [5] [6]
Mesoniscus species lack the pleopodal lungs found in many other woodlice, and are restricted to damp environments. [7]
Mesoniscus | |
---|---|
M. graniger | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | |
Phylum: | |
Subphylum: | |
Class: | |
Order: | |
Suborder: | |
Section: | Microcheta Schmalfuss, 1989
|
Family: | Mesoniscidae
Verhoeff, 1908
|
Genus: | Mesoniscus
Carl, 1906
|
Species | |
|
Mesoniscus is a genus of woodlice, placed in its own family, Mesoniscidae, and section, Microcheta. It contains two species – Mesoniscus alpicolus and Mesoniscus graniger – that live in Central and Eastern Europe, mostly in and around caves.
Mesoniscus is restricted to Central Europe and the Balkan Peninsula; the ranges of its two species do not overlap. [1]
M. alpicolus is found in Lombardy and the Northern Calcareous Alps. [1] In Austria, its range extends from the Karwendel near Innsbruck to the eastern edge of the Wienerwald, although it is also found in isolated pockets of Triassic and Silurian–Devonian limestone in Styria. [2]
M. graniger has a wider distribution than its congener; it is found in much of the Carpathians, including the Bihor and Banat mountains, and in the Dinaric Alps and Julian Alps. [1] It is also found in the Caves of Aggtelek Karst in Hungary. [3]
The first description of a woodlouse now in the genus Mesoniscus was in 1858, when Camill Heller described "Titanethes alpicolus" in 1858. [4] This was followed in 1865 by the description by János Frivaldszky (Ján Frivaldský) of the subspecies "Titanethes alpicolus graniger". [4]
Mesoniscus is the only genus in the family Mesoniscidae, [5] and is considered so distinct from other woodlice that the family is placed in a separate section, named Microcheta. [5] [6]
Mesoniscus species lack the pleopodal lungs found in many other woodlice, and are restricted to damp environments. [7]