Three new troglobitic asellids from Western North America (Crustaces: Isopoda: Asellidae)

Troglobitic isopods of the family Asellidae, comprising about 42 species (Fleming, 1973), are widespread in the eastern United States, mostly in non-glaciated areas, but extending into some glaciated parts of Illinois and Indiana. To the west, troglobitic asellids range to central Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. West of this area, if we exclude the 4 Mexican species of Mexistenasellus (Cole and Minckley, 1972; Magniez, 1972; Argano, 1973) which belong to a separate family, Stenasellidae (Henry and Magniez, 1968, 1970), only 2 troglobitic asellids are known from North America: Asellus californicus Miller (1933) from northern California and Conasellus pasquinii Argano (1972) from Veracruz state, Mexico. The 3 new species of western troglobitic asellids described herein extend the records of blind asellids in North America south to Chiapas state, Mexico, and north to central Alberta, Canada (ca. 53''N), and add a second species from California. The new species from Chiapas is very similar to Conasellus pasquinii Argano (1972); the new asellids from Alberta and California show no close affinities with known species. The generic status of North American species of Asellus is still unsettled. Henry and Magniez (1970) divided tlie species between Conasellus Stammer (1932) and ,Pseudobaicalasellus Henry and Magniez (1968) except A. tomalensis Harford and ... A. californicus Miller, which they believed to be closely related to far-eastern forms belonging to Aseltus (Asellus) and Nipponasellus Matsumoto (1962). I have indi" cated that this is unlikely for A. tomalensis (see Bowman, 1974); the case oi A. californicus will be discussed later in this paper. ' '""'*