Karagama, Shear & Richart & Wong, 2020

Shear, William A., Richart, Casey H. & Wong, Victoria L., 2020, The millipede family Conotylidae in northwestern North America, with a complete bibliography of the family (Diplopoda, Chordeumatida, Heterochordeumatidea, Conotyloidea), Zootaxa 4753 (1), pp. 1-78 : 28

Karagama , new genus

Type species: Karagama ladybird , n. sp.

Diagnosis: Differs from Taiyutyla and the new genus Vancouvereuma in the very simple, acuminate, curved coxites of the posterior gonopods, which lack a T-shaped branch but do have narrow fimbriate regions posteriorly, near a suppressed pore ( Figs. 107, 108 , 110 ). The anterior gonopods ( Figs. 105 , 109 ) are two-branched, similar to those of Bifurcatella , n. gen. (see below) but the branches occupy distinctly anterior and posterior positions, rather than lateral and mesal, as in Bifurcatella species.

Etymology: The genus name is an arbitrary combination of letters that should be treated as feminine in gender.

Included species: Besides the type, Karagama lupus ( Shear, 2004) , n. comb., and Karagama loftinae ( Shear & Krejca, 2011) , n. comb. are also included in the genus.

Notes: This genus is somewhat heterogeneous, particularly with regard to the anterior gonopod, which in the type species has the posterior branch tightly appressed to the anterior; while in the other two, it is well separated. Geography may present another problem, since the type species is from northern California (Redwood National Park) and the other two included species are from the southern Sierra Nevada and Vancouver Island . Nevertheless for the present, relying only on morphology, they seem to belong together .

The name of K. lupus does not change gender since the specific epithet is a noun in apposition rather than an adjective.

Figures

FIGS. 105–108. Karagama ladybird. Fig. 105. Anterior gonopods, posterior view. Fig. 106. Tip of right anterior gonopod, posterior view. Fig. 107. Right Posterior gonopod coxite and prefemur, posterior view. Fig. 108. Tip of right posterior gonopod coxite, posterior view.

FIGS. 109–112. Karagama ladybird and Bollmanella bombus. Figs. 109, 110. Karagama ladybird. Fig. 109. Anterior gonopods, posterior view. Fig. 110. Right posterior gonopod coxite, posterior view. Figs. 111, 112. Bollmanella bombus. Fig. 111. Anterior gonopods, posterior view. Fig. 112. Right posterior gonopod, posterior view.