Balkanopetalum armatum Verhoeff, 1926

Stoev, Pavel & Enghoff, Henrik, 2003, Systematics, phylogeny and biogeography of genus Balkanopetalum Verhoeff, 1926 (Diplopoda: Callipodida: Schizopetalidae), Zootaxa 272 (1), pp. 1-26 : 5-7

Balkanopetalum armatum Verhoeff, 1926

Figs 1­3 .

Type locality: ‘Studenata Höhle beim Tscherepisch­Kloster’. Literature records: Studenata Peshtera Cave near Cherepish Monastery ( Verhoeff, 1926: 58); Cave near Tserovo ( Verhoeff, 1937: 97); Kolibata Cave near Beledie han; Mecha doupka Cave near Bov ( Strasser, 1966, 1969 recorded Mechata doupka Cave as being near Ž elen. In fact the cave is situated near to Bov); Vodnata Peshtera Cave near Tserovo; Serapionovata Peshtera Cave near Cherepish Monastery ( Strasser, 1966: 348­ 349); Paraklisa Cave near Bov (recorded as deserted mine gallery); Shishmanovets Cave near Cherepish Railway Station ( Strasser, 1969: 145); Dushnika Cave near Iskrets ( Beron, 1994: 38).

1. The chaetotaxy tables for individual species (tables 1­6) are based on examination of 3­ 4 specimens of each species, except for petrovi (9 specimens). In the tables “posterior setae” are those emerging from the posterior edge of the pleurotergite, “anterior setae” are all setae located in front of the posterior margin. Some “anterior setae” may be situated only slightly in front of the posterior setae and thus hardly qualify as “anterior”. We have, however, not attempted to subdivide the “anterior setae” into several subgroups.

2. unmodified ( petrovi ); moderately swollen ( rhodopinum , beskovi , graecum ) or strongly swollen ( armatum , bulgaricum ).

Material examined (all from Bulgaria): 2 FF, 1 M (1F, ZMUC), Sofia District, Lukovo Railway Station , deserted mine gallery, 03.05.1974 , P. Beron, V. Beshkov leg.; 1F, Sofia District, v. Lakatinik, Peshtere Cave , 15.05.1926 , collector unknown; 1 subad. F, Iskrets Village, Dushnika Cave , 01.05.1974 , P. Beron, V. Beshkov leg.; 2 FF, same locality, 28.08.1988 , I. Pandurski leg.; 8 subad., Beledie han Village, Komina Cave , 04.03.1988 , P. Beron leg.; 1F, same locality, 02.03.1994 , P. Stoev, B. Petrov leg.; 1 subad., Bov Village, Mechata doupka Cave , 30.01.1994 , B. Petrov leg.; 1F, same locality and collector, 24.03.1996 .

Diagnosis. The species differs from its congeners, except bulgaricum , by having a subanterior coxal process of the gonopods. This process is much stouter than in bulgaricum , mushroom­like, unevenly rounded apically. The posterior coxal process is long, curving near the base of the apical part of the femoroid; the femoroid follows the same direction as the posterior coxal process, except for its apical part where it points in a different direction; the distal femoroidal process is long, black and sigmoid; the ovoid plate is almost evenly rounded, reaching as far as the middle of the femoroid; the solenomerite is bifid ( Figs 1, 2 ). On the male 7th leg­pair, the coxae are mesally incised and the prefemora are mesally heavily swollen ( Fig. 3 ).

Chaetotaxy. See Table 1 .

Notes. This species is widespread in the West Stara Planina Mts., where is confined to caves and deserted mine galleries. It probably occurs in similar environments in the Serbian part of the mountain, too. In the caves it coexists with troglobites like Centromerus bulgarianus (Drensky, 1931) (Araneae) , Lithobius lakatnicensis Verhoeff, 1926 (Chilopoda) , Typhloiulus bureschi Verhoeff, 1926 (Diplopoda) , Phegomissetes globiceps Buresch, 1925 ( Coleoptera ) and Beskovia bulgarica Guéorguiev, 1960 (Coleoptera) . Stenophora beroni , a parasitic eugregarine found in B. armatum , was described by Golemansky (1973).

Figures

FIGURE 1­3. Balkanopetalum armatum Verhoeff. Figs. 1­2. Male gonopods, mesal (Fig. 1) and lateral (Fig. 2) views. Cx ­ Coxa; ACxPr ­ Anterior coxal process; SubACxPr ­ Subanterior coxal process; PCxPr ­ Posterior coxal process; Fe ­ Femoroid; FePr ­ Femoroidal process; OP ­ Ovoid plate; DPr ­ Distal process; ST ­ Solenomerite; SG ­ Seminal groove. Fig. 3. Coxa, trochanter, prefemur and femur of male 7th leg­pair. Cx ­ Coxa; CxMInc ­ Coxal mesal incision; PFe ­ Prefemur; Fe ­ Femur.