Antichiropus nimbus Car, 2019

Car, Catherine A., Harvey, Mark S., Hillyer, Mia J. & Huey, Joel A., 2019, The millipede genus Antichiropus (Diplopoda: Polydesmida: Paradoxosomatidae), part 3: species of the Pilbara bioregion of Western Australia, Zootaxa 4617 (1), pp. 1-71 : 42-43

Antichiropus nimbus Car , n. sp.

( Figs 24 A–F, 33)

ZooBank LSID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:F4C915A3-8686-47D0-A2CA-E977E47DF52D

Type material examined. Australia: Western Australia: holotype male, Cloudbreak , 22°18’52.62”S, 119°18’07.04”E, 89 km WSW of Nullagine, 26 October–3 December 2010, wet pitfall trap, S. White and N. Dight ( WAM T144574 ) . Paratype: 1 male, Cloudbreak , 22°18’52.62”S, 119°18’07.04”E, 26 October–3 December 2010, wet pitfall trap, S. White and N. Dight ( WAM T109073 , GenBank accession number 12S, MK 735758 ; 28S, MK 735818 ; COIII, MK 735940 )

Other material examined. Australia: Western Australia: 1 female, Cloudbreak , 22°18’52.62”S, 119°18’07.04”E, 26 October 2010 – 3 December 2010, wet pitfall trap, S. White and N. Dight ( WAM T109072 ) ; 1 male, Cloudbreak , 22°18’52.62”S, 119°18’07.04”E, 26 October–3 December 2010, wet pitfall trap, S. White and N. Dight ( WAM T109074 , GenBank accession number 28S, MK 735819 ) ; 2 males, 4 females, 5 juveniles, Cloudbreak , 22°18’52.62”S, 119°18’07.04”E, 26 October–3 December 2010, wet pitfall trap, S. White and N. Dight ( WAM T109075 ) ; 1 male, Cloudbreak , 22°18’52.62”S, 119°18’07.04”E, 26 October–3 December 2010, wet pitfall trap, S. White and N. Dight ( WAM T 112610 ) ; 1 male, Newman, ca. 130 km NW of Newman, BFS2, Site 08, 22°17’14.20”S, 119°01’48.20”E, 6 June–16 July 2010, wet trap 09, M.K. Curran ( WAM T 121031, GenBank accession number 12S, MK 735761 ; 28S, MK 735821 ; COI, MK 735887 ; COIII, MK 735942 ; CytB, MK 735993 ) ; 2 females Cloudbreak , 22°18’52.62”S, 119°18’07.04”E, 26 October–3 December 2010, wet pitfall trap, S. White and N. Dight ( WAM T146719 ) ; 1 male, 4 females, 15 juveniles (some damaged), Cloudbreak , 22°18’52.62”S, 119°18’07.04”E, 26 October–3 December 2010, wet pitfall trap, S. White and N. Dight ( WAM T146720 ) ; 2 juveniles (damaged), Newman, ca. 130 km NW of Newman, BFS2, Site 08, 22°17’14.20”S, 119°01’48.20”E, 6 June–16 July 2010, wet trap 09, M.K. Curran ( WAM T146721 ) .

Diagnosis. Gonopod: Antichiropus nimbus Car , n. sp. may easily be separated from other Pilbara species by its distinctive, elaborate second femoral process (fp1) that appears to hug the femorite.

Description. Male holotype: Body ca. 12 mm long; midbody ring ca. 1 mm wide, with distinct, smooth waist, prozonite and metazonite of similar widths.

Colour (in alcohol) brown Fig 24A ) leg colour brown. No paranota ( Fig 24B ).

Sternites without obvious processes/tubercles, sternal lamella squat, broad and rounded. Leg coxal processes absent. Anterior spiracles at midbody ovoid, flat.

Head smooth, with no sculpturing; frons smooth, with few setae; face narrow, maximum width ca. 3x the distance between antennal sockets; sockets separated by ca. 2x width of socket. Antennae short, reaching to posterior edge of collum, relatively robust, antennomeres all similar shape, apical antennomere slightly stouter.

Collum ca. 1x length of head ( Fig 24A ).

Gonopod of medium length, reaching ring 5; coxa (C) robust, squat, shorter than femorite, with very slight ridge on anterior surface; prefemur (PF) robust and broad, with almost triangular prefemoral lip; femorite (F) short, slightly curved, broadening near apex; main femoral process (MFP) long, robust, curved, pointed ca. 1/3 solenomere length; second femoral process (fp1) long, asymmetrically pointed, appearing toothed in lateral view, curling round femorite at right angles to femorite; prolongation of femorite apex (prof) absent; solenomere (S) long, forming>1 loop/circle, similar width along length; solenomere tip short, asymmetrically pointed; solenomere process (sp1) ca. halfway along solenomere, pointed, two-pronged ( Figs 24 C–F).

Female: Similar to male, but stouter (lateral view), with shorter, more slender legs (WAM T109075).

Distribution. This species is known only from the Cloudbreak area, WSW. of Nullagine in the Pilbara region ( Fig 33 ).

Etymology. The species is named for the location in which it was collected (Latin, noun, nimbus , cloud).

Figures

FIGURE 24. Antichiropus nimbus Car, n. sp., holotype male (WAM T144574): A–B, habitus: A, lateral view; B, dorsal view; C–F, left gonopod: C, posterior view; D, anterior view; E, medial view; F, lateral view. Abbreviations: F, femorite; fp1, femoral process two; MFP, main femoral process; PF, prefemur; S, solenomere; sp1, solenomere process 1. Scale bars: A = 1 mm; B = 1 mm; C–F = 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 33. Map showing the known distributions of A. nimbus Car, n. sp., A. pendiculus Car, n. sp., A. picus Car, n. sp., A. procerus Car, n. sp., A. quaestionis Car, n. sp., A. rupinus Car, n. sp. and A. salutus Car, n. sp..