Review of the Spirobolida on Madagascar, with descriptions of twelve new genera, including three genera of ' fire millipedes' (Diplopoda)
Author
Wesener, Thomas
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:author:
Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605, U. S. A. & Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig, Museumsmeile Bonn, Adenauerallee 160, D- 53113 Bonn, Germany. & B 54 D 3623309
Author
Enghoff, Henrik
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:author:
Natural History Museum of Denmark, Universitetsparken 15, DK- 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
Author
Sierwald, Petra
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:author:
Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605, U. S. A.
text
ZooKeys
2009
2009-09-04
19
19
1
128
journal article
10.3897/zookeys.19.221
e6ea8eea-7156-4785-8313-f4bd88dadad1
1313–2970
576503
C473F9F6-1AE7-4B3F-B17F-CA1C2709010C
Granitobolus endemicus
Wesener
,
sp. n.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:
7EFB7119-B5B1-4D30-BE97-F9F709EDD92B
Material
examined:
1 ♂,
6 ♀
,
14 imm.
Holotype
:
1 ♂ (
35 mm
long),
FMMC
W010
A,
Madagascar
,
Province
Toliara
,
Ambatotsirongorongo Mountain
,
Forêt Petit Lavasoa
, rainforest,
25°05.021’ S
,
46°46.110’ E
, leg.
Wesener
et al.,
21.V.2007
.
Paratypes
:
3 ♀
,
6 imm.
,
FMMC
W010
A, same data as holotype
;
1 ♀
,
ZMH
W010
A, same data as holotype
.
Other
material examined
:
2 ♀
,
7 imm.
, W010A, same data as type material, but stored as vouchers at
University
Antananarivo
;
1 imm.
,
FMMC
W099
,
Ambatotsirongorongo Mountain
, Forêt Grand Lavasoa,
25°5’10.23” S
,
46°44’55.93” E
, rainforest, leg.
Wesener
et
Schütte
,
14.VI.2007
.
Differential
diagnosis:
see key for a separation between
G. endemicus
and
G. andohahelensis
sp. n.
Description
.
Measurements
: male with 37 rings, circa
35 mm
long (broken),
3.5 mm
wide. Females with 37 or 38 rings,
42–48 mm
long,
3.8–4.9 mm
wide.
Coloration
affected by alcohol. Anterior part of head and appendages red (
Figs 37D, G
). Mesozona and anterior part of metazona dark grey, posterior part of metazona light brown to dark orange (
Figs 37
A–C).
Antennae
very short, in males protruding back to body ring 3 (
Fig. 37D
), in females to ring 2.
Preanal process
well-rounded, longer than anal valves (
Fig. 37F
).
Anterior gonopod
sternite elongated into a short, wide and well-rounded lobe (
Fig. 37L
). Mesal margin of coxite at midpoint with a projection towards sternite (
Fig. 37N
). Telopodite on posterior side apically with a short, rounded process (
Fig. 37N
). Telopodite process not reaching mesal margin, laterally curved, slightly longer than coxite (
Fig. 37N
).
Posterior gonopods
: telopodite apex erect, covered by a sclerite (
Fig. 37M
). A small membranous area present between apex and beak (
Fig. 37O
).
Intraspecific
variation:
too few specimens, especially mature males, are known to evaluate the intraspecific variation. However, obviously mature females collected at the same spot range from
35 to 48 mm
of length, most likely representing different stadia, or even generations.
Distribution
and ecology:
this species is currently known only from, and probably microendemic to, the isolated rainforests of the Ambatotsirongorongo Mountain in Southeast
Madagascar
(
Fig. 30
), covering altogether less than
10 km
². The Mountain is now isolated from all other natural forests. The forest cover of the Ambatotsirongorongo Mountains decreased considerably in the last 50 years (
Ramanamanjato et al. 2002
) and covers now only a few hundred hectares (
Moat and Smith 2007
). The nearest remaining forest is the worldwide unique, and also endangered, transitional littoral forest of Petriky, 5 kilometers north of Ambatotsirongorongo.
Etymology
:
endemicus
, adjective, refers to the small area of distribution (
Fig. 30
).