Trachypauropus britannicus Scheller, 1990
Identification
This tiny species (about 1mm long) was described new to science in 1990 from specimens collected by Gordon Blower by Tulgren extraction in the Lake District.
Belonging to family Eurypauropodidae, it has a relatively short and squat appearance and is currently the only known representative of this family in the UK (The more elongated Pauropodidae look very different).
In 2018 specimens were observed in a garden in south Wales - see images.
A video of a live specimen found at Reading University campus can be seen here
Distribution and Habitat
About 10 records of this distinctive pauropod are currently known from Britain (records with images submitted to iRecord): in counties Radnorshire and Glamorganshire in Wales; and Berkshire, Hertfordshire and Isle of Wight in England. In 2022 specimens were collected from a woodland in Worcestershire during the annual BMIG field meeting (BMIG Newsletter 45, pg.5)
As with all pauropods this is a small and very elusive species, and consequently extremely under-recorded.
References
Barber, A.D., Blower, J.G., Scheller, U. (1992). Pauropoda, the smallest myriapods. Bulletin of the British Myriapod Group 8: 13-24.
Scheller,U. (1990). A list of the British Pauropoda with a description of a new species of Eurypauropodidae (Myriapoda). Journal of Natural History 24: 1179-1195.
Links
MilliBase - Global catalogue of Pauropods: https://millibase.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1006103
BRC code
135
idBmigTaxa
Pau_140