Amastigogonus hellyeri, Mesibov, Robert, 2017

Mesibov, Robert, 2017, Iulomorphid millipedes (Diplopoda, Spirostreptida, Iulomorphidae) of Tasmania, Australia, ZooKeys 652, pp. 1-36 : 13

Amastigogonus hellyeri sp. n. Figs 4D, 6E

Holotype.

Male, Keddies Creek area, Tas, -41.1704 146.0545 ± 25 m, 60 m a.s.l., 7 May 2016, R. Mesibov, QVM 23:54471.

Paratypes.

1 male, details as for holotype, QVM 23:54472; 2 males, same locality and collector but -41.1672 146.0569 ± 250 m, 50-120 m a.s.l., 11 May 2016, tree trunks along Dial Road at night, QVM 23:54515.

Other material.

142 males and 10 females from 26 unique localities; details in Suppl. material 1.

Diagnosis.

Like Amastigogonus orientalis sp. n. in having a broad pseudoflagellum abruptly reduced apically; distinguished by having a smoothly curving rather than a subquadrate extension of the posterobasal telopodite margin, with a notch anteriorly at the base of the reduced pseudoflagellum tip and the tip relatively long and curving laterally or medially.

Description.

Mature males observed with (40+4) rings, 2.5 mm midbody diameter to (63+1) rings, 3.9 mm. Cardo not deeper posteriorly. Leg 7 with elongated coxa, legs 10 and 11 with less elongated coxae. Prefemoral pad ca 1/2 femur length. Striae on posterior metazonites reaching ca 3/4 of ozopore height.

Coxite process on anterior gonopod (Fig. 6E) with posterodistal margin extended as rounded tab and sharply folded over laterally. Telopodite with single row of prominent setae on posterior side of medial thickening. Pseudoflagellum ca 2/3 telopodite width at base, posterior margin sometimes sinuous in transverse plane; abruptly narrowing apically with a shallow notch dividing the apex into small, rounded, anterior tooth and short, thinly laminar, acutely pointed extension, the latter usually folded over laterally and carrying the prostatic groove to its pointed tip.

Distribution.

Eucalypt forest and cool temperate rainforest in northwest Tasmania (Fig. 7B), from near sea level to at least 760 m. Meets Amastigogonus fossuliger parapatrically along the Mersey Break ( Mesibov 1999) and overlaps to a small extent in far northwest Tasmania with Amastigogonus verreauxii .

Name.

For Henry Hellyer (1790-1832), explorer of northwest Tasmania; noun in the genitive case.

Remarks.

The tip of the pseudoflagellum in preserved males is often bent laterally into the space between the pseudoflagellum and the rest of the telopodite, as shown in Fig. 6E. In other specimens it may be bent medially towards the coxite tip, or extend past the tip of the telopodite. This species otherwise varies little across its range.