Porcellionides hispanus
Creators: name: Cifuentes, Julio
name: Da Silva, Luís P.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Malacostraca
Isopoda
Porcellionidae
Porcellionides
Porcellionides hispanus

description: Porcellionides hispanus (Vandel, 1953)
Figs 2E, L, 3E, 4Q–T, 12–13, Table 1
Metoponorthus sexfasciatus hispanus Vandel, 1953: 269, figs 80, 84–85.
Material examined
SPAIN – Almeria • 2 ♂♂; Almeria, Barranco de El Palmer carretera de Roquetas; 17 Feb. 1984; A. Pollo leg.; MNCN 20.04/7163 • 5 ♀♀; same collection data as for preceding; cited by Cifuentes (2021a); MNCN 20.04/7302. – Granada • 5 ♂♂, 6 ♀♀; Tocón de Quentar; 11 Apr. 2019; J. Cifuentes and A. Tinaut leg.; cited by Cifuentes (2021a); JC380. – Huelva • 1 ♂; Doñana; 2 May 1968; E. Ortiz de Vega leg.; MNCN 20.04/12320. – Madrid • 2 ♀♀; Madrid; 6 Apr. 1955; E. Ortiz de Vega leg.; MNCN 20.04/12389 • 2 ♂♂; Madrid; 21 Jun. 1978; A. Pollo leg.; MNCN 20.04/6929 • 3 ♀♀; same collection data as for preceding; MNCN 20.04/6934. – Málaga • 1 ♀; Ardales; 14 Apr. 2019; J. Cifuentes leg.; cited by Cifuentes (2021a); JC390. – Toledo • 4 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀; Toledo; 23 Apr. 1967; E. Ortiz de Vega leg.; MNCN 20.04/12394.
Remarks
The original description of Metoponorthus sexfasciatus hispanus, by Vandel (1953) indicates that it is intermediate between M. s. molleri and M. s. lusitanus. Vandel identified several distinguishing characters, such as the overall well-marked granulations, a transverse ridge on the pereonite VII with a surrounding row of granulations, and, in males, the absence of a brush of setae on the carpus of the pereopod 1, along with the lack of an inner lobe on the exopod of the pleopod I.
While this species exhibits the closest morphological similarity to P. sexfasciatus, the characters highlighted by Vandel (1953) enable their differentiation. The overall coloration is light brown (Fig. 12A). The noduli laterales coordinates are notably lower than those in P. sexfasciatus, especially d/c (Figs 2E, L, 12B). The scale-setae are short (Fig. 3E), but larger than those in P. sexfasciatus. The cephalon lacks lateral lobes (Table 1), and no transverse ridge is present on any pereonite, though, as noted by Vandel (1953), a row of granulation is present in this region. The antennae are remarkably long and thin. In males, the exopod of the pleopod I lacks a posterior inner tip or is only faintly discernible (Figs 4Q, 12C). These characters differ from those observed in P. sexfasciatus. However, the male exopod of the pleopod II (Figs 4R, 12D), as well as the exopods of the females (Fig. 4S–T), resemble those of P. sexfasciatus. Nevertheless, given the significant observed differences, we consider P. hispanus as a valid species.
Distribution
Spanish providences of Almería: Aguadulce, Albanchez, Dalias, El Alquian, El Egido (Vandel 1953), El Palmer (Vandel 1953; Cifuentes 2021a), La Garrofa and Sierra de los Filabres (Vandel 1953); Córdoba: Carcabuey and El Bejarano (Garcia 2019); Granada: Tocón de Quentar (Cifuentes 2021a); Jaén: Peñas (Garcia 2019); Málaga: Ardales (Cifuentes 2021a).
It is recorded for the first time in the Spanish provinces of Huelva and Madrid (Fig. 13).
description: Published as part of Cifuentes, Julio & Da Silva, Luís P., 2024, Revision of the genus Porcellionides Miers, 1877 (Isopoda: Porcellionidae) in the Ibero-Balearic region, pp. 1-51 in European Journal of Taxonomy 939 on pages 19-22, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2024.939.2573, http://zenodo.org/record/12156988