The milliped family Trichopetalidae, Part 1: Introduction and Genera Trigenotyla Causey, Nannopetalum n. gen., and Causeyella n. gen. (Diplopoda: Chordeumatida, Cleidogonoidea)
Author
Shear, William A.
text
Zootaxa
2003
321
1
36
journal article
10.5281/zenodo.157036
8845a192-a81c-4e81-a280-e19c508ce7dd
11755326
157036
Nannopetalum vespertilio
,
n. sp.
Figs. 5–7
Types
:
Male
holotype
from North Carolina: Henderson Co., Bat Cave, collected in the cave
14 May 1977
by C. Holler (NCMNS).
Diagnosis:
A very small species of
Nannopetalum
,
lacking ocelli; the gonopod fimbriae are large and prominent.
Etymology:
The species epithet is a noun in apposition, “bat”, and refers to the
type
locality.
Male
holotype
:
Total length, 3.8 mm; width 0.4 mm. Ocelli absent. Unpigmented. Segmental setae 80% or more of body width, thin and curved; lacking prominent segmental striations; segmental shoulders welldeveloped, paranotalike. Legpairs three to seven encrassate, pair six the largest.
Gonopods (
Fig. 5
) with sternal lobes much reduced, shifted laterally; coxae with fimbriations becoming larger distally, eventually forming long, branched process; mesal setal group of three on each side shifted laterally; angiocoxites slender, median process short, acute, lateral process blunt, with two thin apical branches (
Fig. 6
); colpocoxites much reduced but with large fimbirate branches that appear to be basally fused. Ninth legs (
Fig. 7
) typical; tenth and eleventh legpairs with coxal glands, otherwise unmodified.
FIGURES 5–7.
Nannopetalum vespertilio
,
n. sp.
5, gonopods, anterior view. 6, angiocoxite, mesal view. 7. male left ninth leg telopodite, anterior view. Scale lines = 0.1 mm (100 µm).
Female unknown.
Distribution:
Known only from Bat Cave, an unusual granite fissure cave not located in a karst area.
Notes:
It is not at all clear if this species is really troglobitic. It is the smallest known trichopetalid and one of the smallest of all chilognath millipeds.
Nannopetalum fontis
,
n. sp
.
Fig. 8
Type
:
Male
holotype
and female
paratype
from Alabama: St. Clair Co., Springville Cave, Springville, collected
31 May 1962
by person or persons unknown (“DZ”) (
FSCA
).
Diagnosis:
Small, eyeless species with complex gonopods, especially the posterior branch; the gonopods have strongly reduced fimbriae.
Etymology:
The species epithet is a noun, Latin for “of the spring or fountain,” and refers to the
type
locality.
Male
holotype
:
Total length, 4.75 mm; width 0.5 mm. Unpigmented; eyeless. Segments without evident lateral striations; segmental shoulders moderately developed. Legpairs 3–6 only slightly enlarged, legpair 7 about equal to legpair 12.
Gonopods (
Fig. 8
) with reduced coxosternum. Coxae (
c
) with median group of 2 setae shifted to posterior position, lateral group of 3 setae on prominent shoulders; angiocoxite branch complex (
ac
), with 4 terminations; anterior fimbriae reduced to a few hardly visible scales. Colpocoxites (
cc
) simple, large, lobelike; fimbriate branch not seen. Ninth legs (
t9
) typical; prefemur with small terminal nubbin. Legpairs 10 and 11 with glands, coxae not modified.
FIGURE 8.
Gonopods and ninth legs of
Nannopetalum fontis
,
n. sp.
Scale line = 0.1 mm (100 µm).
Female
paratype
:
Total length, 4.5 mm; width, 0.5 mm. All somatic characters similar to male.
Distribution:
Known only from the
type
collection.
Notes:
The general appearance of members of this species is that of troglobites. In the vial with the
type
specimens were a female and an immature specimen of
Scoterpes
.
There are no other records of
Scoterpes
from Springville Cave, and the only species found in the vicinity is
S. syntheticum
(Shear)
. If the presence of a
Scoterpes
species in Springville Cave can be verified, this would be the first and only known case of syntopy between two troglobitic trichopetalids.