Brachydesmus (s. str.) pigmentatus Attems, 1951

Golovatch, Sergei, Evsyukov, Aleksandr & Reip, Hans, 2016, The millipede family Polydesmidae in the Caucasus (Diplopoda: Polydesmida), Zootaxa 4085 (1), pp. 1-51 : 16

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.4085.1.1

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:7F819439-FD77-4EF2-8E26-7B46F9B5FAAB

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6079495

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03D23F44-F61D-9D2B-FF07-54E7FADCC5F7

treatment provided by

Plazi

scientific name

Brachydesmus (s. str.) pigmentatus Attems, 1951
status

 

Brachydesmus (s. str.) pigmentatus Attems, 1951 View in CoL

Fig. 8 View FIGURE 8 , Map 3

Brachydesmus pigmentatus Attems, 1951: 407 View in CoL (D).

Brachydesmus View in CoL pigmentatus— Golovatch, 1981b: 426 (D); Enghoff and Moravvej, 2005: 69 (R).

Brachydesmus pereliae Golovatch, 1976: 1567 View in CoL (D), syn. n.

Brachydesmus View in CoL pereliae— Lokšina and Golovatch, 1979: 384 (M); Golovatch, 1979: 1323 (M); Read and Golovatch, 1994: 65 (M).

Material examined. 1 male (ZMUM), AZERBAIJAN, Talysh Mts, Farm Azerbaijan ca 10 km SE of Lerik, 550 m a.s.l., Quercus , Carpinus , Acer etc. forest along stream, litter and rotten wood, 12.X.1983; 4 juv. (ZMUM), Talysh Mts., Lerik Distr., Zuvand, foot of Mt Kyumyurkey, Oranchay Valley, xerophytous montane grassland, 2100 – 2200 m a.s.l., under stones, 9.X.1983, all leg. S. Golovatch; 1 juv. (ZMUM), Istisu SW of Astara, Quercus, Parrotia , Carpinus , Acer etc. forest, X.1978, leg. A. Druk; 1 male (ZMUM), Lenkoran Distr., Hyrcan Nature Reserve, forest, rotten wood, 19.III.1971, leg. N. Loginova; 1 male (ZMUM), Lenkoran Distr., Hyrcan Nature Reserve, litter, 26.I. – 4.II.1985; 2 males, 2 females (ZMUM), same locality and data, all leg. A. Druk; 1 female (ZMUM), Azerbaijan, Lenkoran Distr., Hyrcan Nature Reserve, near Alekseevka, 21.IV.1985; 1 male, 2 females (ZMUM), same locality, Khan-Bulan River, 22.IV.1985; 1 female (ZMUM), same locality, Avrora, lowland forest, 21.IV.1985, all leg. E. Kupriyanova; 1 female (ZMUM), same locality, forest, litter, 26.I. – 4.II.1985, leg. A. Druk; 1 female, 2 juv. (ZMUM), same locality, 50 m a.s.l., Quercus, Parrotia , Carpinus etc. forest, 13.X.1983; 4 males (ZMUM), same locality, 8 km SW of Alekseevka, Apo, Quercus , Acer , Carpinus, Parrotia etc. forest, litter, under stones and bark, 16.X.1983; 4 females (ZMUM), same locality, Apo ca 6 km SW of Alekseevka, Quercus , Acer , Carpinus, Parrotia etc. forest, litter, under stones and bark, 14 and 16.X.1983; 1 female (ZMUM), Lenkoran Distr., Avrora, Moscow Forest, 50 m a.s.l., 1.VI.1996; 1 female (ZMUM), Lenkoran, Apo below Bilasar, 350 m a.s.l., 8 – 9.VI.1996, all leg. S. Golovatch.

Descriptive notes. Length ca 13 – 21 mm, width of midbody metazonae 1.2 – 2.1 mm (male, female), but the above samples ranging between 13 and 16 mm in length, and 1.8 and 2.1 mm in width; metazonite to prozonite width ratio <1.6 ( Fig. 8 A – 8 D View FIGURE 8 ). Live coloration usually uniformly grey-brown to brown, in alcohol sometimes faded to light brown ( Fig. 8 A View FIGURE 8 ).

All characters as in B. assimilis ( Fig. 8 View FIGURE 8 ), except as follows. Paraterga subhorizontal to poorly declivous, mostly only slightly rounded laterally; caudolateral corner obtuse-angled only until segment 6, pointed or nearly pointed and increasingly well drawn behind rear tergal margin starting with segment 8 or 9 ( Fig. 8A – 8D View FIGURE 8 ). Fore margins of paraterga mostly straight, anterolateral corner usually angular. Tergal setae a little longer, largely pointed. Male prefemora strongly bulging laterad. Gonopod ( Fig. 8E, 8F View FIGURE 8 ) subfalcate, bipartite, with a long, very simple, fingershaped, ventrad only slightly and regularly curved, apically acuminate exomere (ex), this being tightly appressed ventrally to a similar, also finger-shaped, but somewhat shorter endomere (en), the latter at base carrying a small, medioventral spine (k); en representing a solenomere devoid of a hairy pulvillus; a small tooth (t) located medioventrally at base of femorite.

Remarks. This species has hitherto been considered as subendemic to Hyrcania within N and NW Iran alone (Elburs and Zagros mountains) ( Attems 1951; Golovatch 1981b). The above records are thus new to the fauna of the Republic of Azerbaijan, in general also to that of the Caucasus.

Given such a considerable range of variation in body size in B. pigmentatus , we do not hesitate to formally synonymize here this species with B. pereliae Golovatch, 1976 , the latter taxon known from the W Kopetdagh Mountains, SW Turkmenistan. Indeed, the holotype of B. pereliae was said to be 10 mm long and 1.17 mm wide, whereas the gonopods of B. pigmentatus and B. pereliae have been noted as being virtually identical ( Golovatch 1976). Hence the new synonymy advanced: B. pigmentatus Attems, 1951 = B. pereliae Golovatch, 1976 , syn. n.

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Diplopoda

Order

Polydesmida

Family

Polydesmidae

Genus

Brachydesmus

Loc

Brachydesmus (s. str.) pigmentatus Attems, 1951

Golovatch, Sergei, Evsyukov, Aleksandr & Reip, Hans 2016
2016
Loc

Brachydesmus

Enghoff 2005: 69
Golovatch 1981: 426
1981
Loc

Brachydesmus

Read 1994: 65
Loksina 1979: 384
1979
Loc

Brachydesmus pereliae

Golovatch 1976: 1567
1976
Loc

Brachydesmus pigmentatus

Attems 1951: 407
1951
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