Polyplectropus fuscatus

Chamorro, Maria Lourdes & Holzenthal, Ralph W., 2010, 2582, Zootaxa 2582, pp. 1-252 : 120-121

Polyplectropus fuscatus species group, newly recognized

With the exception of the presence or absence of the dorsolateral process of the preanal appendage, the species in the P. fuscatus group are largely homogeneous, particularly in the shape of the inferior appendage. Polyplectropus beutelspacheri , an unassigned species, may belong in the P. fuscatus group based on similarities in the shapes of the inferior appendage and mesoventral process of the preanal appendage, and on the complexity of the intermediate appendage. However, this relationship was not supported in the phylogenetic analysis. Polyplectropus beutelspacheri possesses features shared by species in other groups, hence its unresolved placement in the phylogeny. As a result, 3 species are currently recognized in the P. fuscatus group, which is characterized by the combined possession of the following traits:

1. A complex intermediate appendage bearing more than 1 lobe ( Figs. 59C, 61C);

2. A pandurate dorsal branch of the inferior appendage having a truncate apex ( Fig. 59A);

3. A basal dorsal digitate lobe on the mesoventral process of the preanal appendage ( Figs. 60A, C).