Neoleptodesmus aztecus (Saussure, 1859)

John Hollier, Edmund Schiller & Nesrine Akkari, 2017, An annotated list of the Diplopoda described by Aloïs Humbert alone and with Henri de Saussure, and the Diplopoda from Saussure’s Mexico expedition, Revue suisse de Zoologie 124 (2), pp. 203-224 : 205

aztecus Saussure, 1859a: 324 [ Polydesmus (Leptodesmus) ].

Plateau du Mexique. Unspecified series.

Saussure (1860) gave a much more detailed description of both sexes. He stated that he had taken it “à plusieurs reprises sur le plateau de Puebla” adding “Un grand individu mâle a été pris sur les Flancs du Pic d’Orizaba, mais d’autres individus proviennent du volcan de Tuxtla, d’un climat tempéré.” Carl (1903) illustrated the gonopod, mentioning an “Originalexemplar” from Puebla. The MHNG collection contains a ♂ and a ♀ labelled as types in alcohol under the name Neoleptodesmus aztecus and two specimens in alcohol labelled as a type under the name Polydesmus aztecus . The first two specimens, which have been transferred from the dry collection, have the data labels “Puebla, Mexique, M H de Saussure” and are clearly part of the type series. The other two have the data label “Potrero, Mexico, Sumichrast” and are probably specimens sent to Saussure subsequently to the expeditions and are not part of the type series collected by Saussure. Hoffman (1999: 424) designated the ♂ from Puebla as the lectotype. There is a paralectotype in the ZMHB ( Moritz & Fischer, 1978; ZMB207).

Neoleptodesmus aztecus (Saussure, 1859)