Mountains of millipedes. The family Odontopygidae in the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania (Diplopoda, Spirostreptida)
Author
Enghoff, Henrik
FB09A817-000D-43C3-BCC4-2BC1E5373635
Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, DK- 2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark.
henghoff@snm.ku.dk
text
European Journal of Taxonomy
2022
2022-03-14
803
1
136
http://dx.doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2022.803.1691
journal article
20167
10.5852/ejt.2022.803.1691
af09c8e1-b481-4de0-b9d0-83ba26bf9876
2118-9773
6359066
8B66C8AE-F00A-42F6-9641-26B0ECC49F78
Xystopyge bentemarieae
sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:
0968ADE8-6469-44B3-AE8D-D427EED0A597
Figs 4B
,
62–64
Diagnosis
Differs from other species of
Xystopyge
by the combination of a hammerlike profile of the distal part of the gonopod coxa in certain views (
Fig. 63C
) (shared only with
X. martella
VandenSpiegel & Pierrard, 2004
, and
X. doggartae
sp. nov.
), an only moderately long, tongue-shaped gonopod sternum (very long, slender-triangular in
X. martella
and
X. doggartae
sp. nov.
), a very stout, moderately curved hook (
th
) at midlength of the gonopod telomere (very strongly curved in
X. doggartae
sp. nov.
), lack of a basal solenomeral spine (
BSS
) (a small tubercle in
X. martella
, a long basal spine in in
X. doggartae
sp. nov.
) and a distal division of the solenomere into two branches (undivided in
X. martella
).
Etymology
After my granddaughter Bente Marie Enghoff Mogensen.
Material examined
(total
7 ♂♂
)
Holotype
TANZANIA
•
♂
;
Morogoro Region
,
Kanga Mts
,
Kanga FR
;
400–500 m
a.s.l.
;
22–25 Nov. 1984
;
lowland rain forest
;
N. Scharff
leg.;
NHMD 621766
.
Paratypes
TANZANIA
•
6 ♂♂
; same collection data as for holotype;
NHMD 621767
.
Description
SIZE. Length
57–73 mm
. Diameter 3.5–4.0 mm. 61–62 podous rings; no podous rings in fornt of telson.
COLOUR. After 36 years in alcohol faded to light (greyish) brown; however, a broad mid-dorsal pale stripe still evident.
SUPRALABRAL SETAE. 5–6.
MANDIBULAR STIPES. Distal margin slightly concave, posterior-distal corner almost right-angled.
ANAL VALVES (
Fig. 4B
). Each with a distinct dorsal spine and 2 setae on raised margin; no ventral spine.
LIMBUS (
Fig. 62C
). Margin with short, smooth rounded lobes.
LEGS. With postfemoral and tibial pads from leg-pair 5, except for last few leg-pairs; size of pads decreasing towards posterior.
FIRST PAIR OF LEGS (
Fig. 62D–F
). Prefemoral lobes short, triangular in ventral view. Six to eight long coxosternal setae (
CXS
) adjacent to lateral side of prefemoral process; prefemur with a few peglike mesapical sensilla (
APS
) and ca 12 peglike lateral sensilla (
LPS
).
GONOPOD STERNUM (STERNUM 8) (
Fig. 62A
). Tongue-shaped, ca twice as long as broad.
STERNUM 9. Pentagonal with parallel lateral margins (‘house-shaped’).
GONOPOD COXA (
Fig. 63
). Proplica (
PP
) simple, proplical lobe (
PPL
) relatively slender, clearly visible in anterior view. Metaplica (
MP
) at level of proplical lobe produced mesad into triangular ridged process (
mpo
), at lateral end of
mpo
a large vertical lobe (
mpv
), distally produced into complex structure with four subhorizontal processes: 1. A large, subrectangular meso-posteriad process (
mpp
), 2. A long, triangular mesad process (
mtp
), 3. A very slender process (
sx
) process originating next to
mtp
4. A subrectangular anteriad process (
rx
) (
sx
and
rx
corresponding to the similarly labelled processes in
X. doggartae
sp. nov.
).
GONOPOD TELOPODITE (
Fig. 64
). Arculus 135°. Torsotope not very well delimited. Solenomere (
SLM
) at rest concealed within gutter formed by telomere; ca as long as telomere, simple, without a basal spine, towards end divided into a long, striate branch (
sdl
) with the opening of the efferent canal, and a longer, slender, smooth, curved spinelike branch (
sdp
), the latter with a short basal accessory spinelike branch. Telomere (
TM
) overall consisting of a ribbon describing a full circle and at the same time folded lengthwise forming a concavity along the inner side of the circle, with a very stout, smooth hook (
th
) ca at mid-length; at the end with a transverse spinelike process (
ttp
).
Distribution and habitat
Only known from lowland rain forest at
400–500 m
a.s.l. at the
type
locality, Kanga FR in the Kanga Mts (part of Nguru Mts).
Remarks
Although
X. bentemariae
sp. nov.
is here diagnosed vis-à-vis
X. martella
and
X. doggartae
sp. nov.
, it also shows some striking similarities with
X. robusta
Attems, 1910
. This species has been illustrated by
Attems (1910)
and
VandenSpiegel & Pierrard (2004)
, but the opportunity is here taken to show some SEM images (
Fig. 65
) of the gonopods of a male of
X. robusta
collected close to the Uluguru Mts, viz:
TANZANIA
•
♂
;
Morogoro Region
,
Morogoro
,
foot of Uluguru Mts
,
above the university campus
;
17 Mar. 1989
;
hand collecting from ground and from plants
;
Mahunka
and
Zicsi
leg.;
HNHM diplo-03051
(Compared side by side with a syntype of
X. robusta
(NHMW 9114, Insel Pemba, Chake Chake, Voeltkow leg. and don.) – the gonopods are completely identical.)
Specific similarities between
X. robusta
and
X. bentemarieae
sp. nov.
include:
- the very complicated distal part of the metaplica, especially the slender process
sx
- the simple telomere (TM)
- the hooklike moderately curved telomeral process (
th
)
Differences include:
- details of the apical metaplical processes other than
sx
- the solenomere (
slm
) which in
X. robusta
ends in a striate lamella with a terminal hook, vs divided into a striate branch (
sdl
) and a spinelike process (
sdp
) in
X. bentemarieae
sp. nov.