Aquattuor submajor Enghoff, 2015

Enghoff, Henrik, 2020, A mountain of millipedes VIII. The genus Aquattuor Frederiksen, 2013 revisited - a new species from the Udzungwa Mts, Tanzania, another from the Nguru Mts, and introduction of the first pair of male legs as a source of taxonomic characters (Diplopoda, Spirostreptida, Odontopygidae), European Journal of Taxonomy 626, pp. 1-32 : 22-24

Aquattuor submajor Enghoff, 2015

Figs 1 , 7 A–C, 9, 16, 18

Aquattuor submajor Enghoff, in Enghoff & Frederiksen, 2015: 7 .

Diagnosis

Diameter 1.41–1.87 mm, 41–48 podous rings ( Fig. 9 ). Shares a short (as broad as long, or slightly longer) gonopodal palette with A. claudiahempae , A. denticulatus , A. fasciatus , A. stereosathe and A. udzungwensis . Differs from these species by the combination of fully developed telopodites on the first pair of male legs, the gonopodal telomere describing a ca 270° curve, curving almost in one plane only, by lacking a spinose lid-like flap on the besal telomeral lamella and by lacking a distinct mesobasal lobe of the gonopod palette.

Material studied (total: 8 ♂♂)

TANZANIA • 1 ♂, paratype; Udzungwa Mts, Mwanihana Forest above Sanje ; 1000 m a.s.l.; 1 Aug. 1981; N. Scharff leg.; pitfall trap; NHMD 261651 • 1 ♂; Morogoro Region, Udzungwa Mts National Park , Kidatu, Plot 5; 07°40′45.5″ S, 36°55′06.9″ E; 1448 m a.s.l.; 21 Oct. 2014; J. Malumbres-Olarte leg.; pitfall trapping; NHMD 621652 • 1 ♂; Morogoro Region, Udzungwa Mts National Park , Kidatu, Plot 6; 07°40′42.1″ S, 36°55′06.8″ E; 1482 m a.s.l.; 21 Oct. 2014; J. Malumbres-Olarte leg.; pitfall trapping; NHMD 621653 • 4 ♂♂; Morogoro Region, Udzungwa Mts National Park , Kidatu, Plot 9; 07°41′06.2″ S, 36°54′52.4″ E; 1527 m a.s.l.; 23 Oct. 2014; J. Malumbres-Olarte leg.; pitfall trapping (summed catch from four traps); NHMD 621654 • 1 ♂; Morogoro Region, Udzungwa Mts National Park , Mito Mitatu, Plot 15; 07°49′39.8″ S, 36°50′26.9″ E; 1552 m a.s.l.; 27 Oct. 2014; J. Malumbres- Olarte leg.; pitfall trapping; NHMD 621655 .

Descriptive notes

The newly studied specimens from Kidatu are considerably smaller than those from Mwanihana FR; see Table 1.

First pair of male legs ( Figs 7 A–C): prefemoral processes finger-shaped; setae of telopodite distal to prefemur same length as setae of normal walking legs.

Gonopod telopodite ( Fig. 16 ): basal telomeral lamella (btl) forming a subspherical chamber but without a spinose lid-like flap, cf. A. udzungwensis . In the specimen illustrated in Fig. 16 the tip has remarkably long marginal laciniae, approaching the condition typical of A. stereosathe ( Enghoff & Frederiksen 2015: fig. 9c).

Remarks

The distinction between A. submajor and A. udzungwensis is discussed under the latter species.

Distribution

Known from Mwanihana FR and Kidatu in Udzungwa Mts National Park. Altitudinal range: 1000–1552 m a.s.l.

Figures

Fig. 1. Collecting sites for Aquattuor spp. in the Udzungwa Mts. Based on Marshall et al. (2010: fig. 1); inset by permission of the Eastern Arc Mountains Conservation Endowment Fund.

Fig. 7. Aquattuor spp., first pair of male legs. A–C. A. submajor Enghoff, 2015, paratype, ♂ (NHMD 621651). A. Anterior view. B. Sublateral view. C. Ventral view. D–E. A. udzungwensis Enghoff, 2015, male from Udzungwa Mts National Park, Kidatu (NHMD 621662). D. Anterior view. E. Ventral view. Scale bars = 0.1 mm.

Fig. 9. Aquattuor spp. Body size (number of podous rings and midbody vertical diameter) in males of Aquattuor species from the Udzungwa Mts, and of A. claudiahempae Enghoff & Frederiksen, 2015 from Mt Kilimanjaro. In case of (almost) coinciding values, symbols have been slightly displaced horizontally.

Fig.16. Aquattuor submajor Enghoff, 2015. A–D. Male from Udzungwa Mts National Park, Kidatu (NHMD 621653), left gonopod telopodite. A. Posterior view. B. Anterior view. C. Distal (ventral) view. D. Basal (dorsal) view. E–F. Male from Udzungwa Mts National Park, Kidatu (NHMD 621654), right gonopod telopodite, broken into two pieces. E. Basal part. F. Tip of telomere. Abbreviations: btl = basal telomeral lamella; mpl = meso-posterior telomeral lamella; slm = solenomere; tm = telomere. Scale bars: A–E = 0.1 mm; F = 0.02 mm.