Leiobunum religiosum : neu für Deutschland (Arachnida: Opiliones)

Abstract

Leiobunum religiosum (Arachnida: Opiliones): first record for Germany. L. religiosum Simon, 1879 was found at Mayen near Koblenz (Rhineland-Palatinate), Germany. This is the first record for Germany and is about 500 km from the known distribution area of the species in the southwestern Alps. The German population seems to be restricted to the ancient Roman quarry “Mayener Grubenfeld” where it is confined to stone walls and cave systems with balanced microclimatic conditions. Genital morphological structures were found to be very fragile, were easily deformed and therefore apparently variable. Difficulties in using these characters for taxonomy are discussed. Ecology, provenance and conservation status of the newly discovered population are considered.