Typhloiulus maximus (Verhoeff, 1929)

Mesoporoiulus maximus Verhoeff, 1929

Typhloiulus maximus: Verhoeff 1930

Typhloiulus (Mesoporoiulus) maximus: Pretner & Strasser 1931 Typhloiulus (Stygiiulus) maximus: Manfredi 1932 Typhloiulus maximus var. longicauda Strasser, 1962 Typhloiulus maximus var. maximus: Strasser 1962

Material. All from Italy, 1 ♂ (EP) Friuli, Prealpi Carniche, Clauzetto, Sot i Andris (=Grotte Verdi=Caverne di Pradis di Sotto) (116 Fr/PN), 520 m, 30.XI.2003, E. Piva leg.; 1 ♂, 5 ♀ (EP), Veneto, Cansiglio-Cavallo, Fregona, Monte Pizzoc, in a small cave, ca. 1530 m, 11.V.1993, E. Piva leg.; 1 ♂ (EP), Friuli, Prealpi Giulie, Ragogna, Monte di Ragogna, loc. San Pietro, in an excavation site, non-active at that time, 150 m, 01.VI.2008, D. Bianco & E. Piva leg.; 1 ♂ (EP), Veneto, Prealpi Bellunesi, Belluno, small forest N of M. Faverghera, ca. 1520 m, 27.VII.2008, D. Bianco, M. Bognolo, A. Fabbri & E. Piva leg.; 1 ♂, 5 ♀ (EP) Veneto, Prealpi Bellunesi, Valdobbiadene, Grotta Maserazze (2113 V /TV), 1015 m, 21.V.1989, E. Piva leg.; 1 ♂ (MCSNB), Ponte nelle Alpi, Quantin, Bus de Barba Checchoi, VBL 1245, date?,? leg.; 1 ♂ (MCSNB), Clauzetto, Grotta presso Battei, date and collector unknown; 1 ♂ (MRSNT), Friuli, Taipana, 31.V.1986, Casale leg.; 1 ♂ (coll. Minelli), Grotte Verdi, Fr 116, q 520, com. Clauzetto, on detritus in the dark, humid, deepest part of the cave, 29.V.1983, F. Gasparo leg.

Distribution. Recorded from numerous caves, as well as endogean habitats in the Prealps in northeast Italy (Minelli, 1985; present study).

Remarks. The species was originally described as Mesoporoiulus maximus on the basis of a single female specimen. After examining a male, Verhoeff (1930) revised his opinion, recognizing T. maximus as a “true” Typhloiulus . In addition, he downgraded Mesoporoiulus to a subgenus of Typhloiulus with T. (M.) tobias Berlese as the only affiliated species.

T. maximus is host to the ectoparasitic laboulbeniacean fungus Troglomyces manfrediae Colla (Santamaria et al. 2014) .