Rhodopotyphlus mitovi, Vagalinski, 2021

Vagalinski, Boyan, 2021, Rhodopotyphlus mitovi gen. et sp. nov., a new endogean millipede from the Western Rhodope Mountains, Bulgaria (Diplopoda: Julida: Julidae), Zootaxa 5071 (3), pp. 415-426 : 416-422

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.5071.3.7
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:E1C37C12-2E23-4AF7-973E-06B03AE6036A
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5736480
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03828789-7767-FFEB-4A99-9484FC9BFDCE
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Rhodopotyphlus mitovi
status	gen. et sp. nov.

Treatment

Rhodopotyphlus mitovi View in CoL gen. et sp. nov.

Typhloiulus spec. nov.: Bodner et al. (2016: 251).

Typhloiulus View in CoL n. sp.: Bodner et al. (2016: 252, 255).

Typhloiulini sp. n.: Makarov et al. (2017: 318–320).

“Typhloiulini” sp. n.: Makarov et al. (2017: 321–324).

Material examined. Holotype: ♂ (unbroken) ( NMNHS): Bulgaria, Western Rhodope Mts, Plovdiv District, Laki Municipality, between the villages of Yugovo and Belitsa , on the left side of the road in direction to Belitsa , ca. 1.5 km after the junction leading to Borovo Village , ca. 650 m a.s.l., carved limestone scree with sparse Corylus L., young Carpinus L. and Pinus L., Viburnum L., etc., 10–20 cm below the surface, in fine gravel with some soil and rootlets, 13.IV.2017, P. Mitov & B. Vagalinski leg. Paratypes: 1 ♂ (unbroken) ( IBER), same collecting data as for holotype; 1 ♂ (head to ring 6 accidentally lost, gonopods dissected, antenna, gnathochilarium, leg-pair 1, 2, and 3, and telson prepared for SEM) ( IBER), 1 ♀ (unbroken) ( IBER), same place, 3. V.2014, P. Mitov leg.; 1 ♂ (unbroken) ( ZMUC), 1 ♂ (partly broken in the middle) ( NMNHS), 1 ♂ (with partly broken caudal part) ( NMNHS), 1 ♂ (in head to ring 6 + ring 7 to ring 36 + ring 37 to ring 44 + ring 45 and telson, leg-pair 2 with penis and right flange of ring 7 dissected, gonopods prepared for SEM) ( IBER), 1 ♀ (unbroken) ( NMNHS), 1 ♀ (unbroken) ( ZMUC), 1 ♀ (in head to ring 2 + rest of body, vulvae dissected, right one prepared for SEM) ( IBER), 3 juv. (unbroken) ( IBER), same place, 1. V.2015, P. Mitov & B. Vagalinski leg.

Non-type material: 1 ♀ (unbroken) ( IBER), same area, a small scree, ca. 200 m SE of the type locality, 1. V.2018, B. Vagalinski leg.

Etymology. Honours my friend and colleague, Prof. Plamen Mitov (Sofia University, Biological Faculty), a prominent Bulgarian zoologist and the one to find and collect the first specimens of this remarkable species.

Description. Measurements: holotype with BRF 51+2+T, L = 10.2 mm, H = 0.5 mm; paratype ♂♂ with BRF 32–54+2–6+T, L = 6.8–13 mm, H = 0.43–0.52 mm; paratype ♀♀ with BRF 46–56+1–3+T, L = 8.9–13.5 mm, H = 0.46–0.57 mm.

Colouration ( Fig. 1 View FIGURE 1 ): Mostly whitish beige to light brown, metazonae somewhat greyish.

Head (in Fig. 1C View FIGURE 1 ): Ommatidia absent. 2 vertigial, 4 supralabral and 12–16 labral setae. Antennae ( Fig. 2A View FIGURE 2 ) 1.3– 1.4 times as long as head in males, and 1.25–1.35 in females; antennomeres 2, 3 and 5 subequal in length, somewhat longer than 4 and 6; 5 ca 1.3 times as long as broad and ca 1.5 times as broad as 2; the four apical cones markedly slender and tapering; distal margins of antennomeres 5 and 6 dorsolaterally with several sensilla basiconica, those on 5 larger and clavate, those on 6 very fine, bacilliform. Mandibular stipites in males not expanded. Labrum tridentate. Gnathochilarium ( Fig. 2B, C View FIGURE 2 ) without peculiarities; basal part of stipites non-setose, stipital palps ( Fig. 2C View FIGURE 2 ) normally developed, each bearing only several but rather large apical sensilla; promentum large, elongate, almost completely separating lamellae linguales, the latter each bearing 3 setae in a row.

Trunk and legs: Collum mostly smooth, with just 2–3 shallow longitudinal striae at posterolateral corner. Body rings considerably vaulted. Prozonae completely smooth. Metazonae very shallowly striated, n Schub = 5–6, the striae not crossing entire length of metazona; hind margins with a whorl of erect setae, these being ca 2/5 of metazonal length, becoming somewhat longer in more anterior rings. Ozopores placed behind pro-metazonal suture at ca 2/5 of metazonal length measured from front to back. Walking legs relatively short: mid-body legs ca 0.7 times as long as H in males and ca 0.6 times in females. Tarsus of mid-body legs 2–2.3 times as long as tibia and 4.5–5 times as long as apical claw. Legs 2 ( Fig. 2D View FIGURE 2 ) with accessory claw, legs 3 ( Fig. 2E View FIGURE 2 ) and following pairs without.

Telson ( Fig. 2F View FIGURE 2 ): Pre-anal ring sparsely setose. Epiproct moderately long (nearly reaching level of the longest paraproctal setae), rather narrow, bent slightly ventrad, ending with a fine hyaline tip. Hypoproct short and broad, blunt subtriangular in males, somewhat more broadly rounded in females; from barely protruding to drawn with ca 1/3 past caudal contour of paraprocts in both sexes; ventral surface with a pair of submarginal setae. Paraprocts sparsely setose, without distinct rows of shorter setae along caudal margins.

Male sexual characters: Leg-pair 1 ( Fig. 3A View FIGURE 3 ) 3-segmented, compact hooks oriented mesad; tibial outgrowth small, tarsal remnant absent. Leg-pair 2 somewhat larger than following pairs, ventrally without adhesive pads; next several pairs with vestigial, barely visible pads, one each on postfemur and tibia (arrows in Fig. 2E View FIGURE 2 ). Pleurotergum 7 ( Fig. 3B View FIGURE 3 ) ventrally forming weakly pronounced, rounded lobes originating entirely from the metazona. Penis ( Fig. 3C View FIGURE 3 ) trapezoidal, with contiguous apical lobes diverging only distally, ending up with short and blunt terminal lamellae.

Gonopods ( Fig. 4 View FIGURE 4 ): In situ mostly sunken in gonopodal sinus, with only the tips protruding. Promere ( Fig. 4C and P View FIGURE 4 in Fig. 4A, B View FIGURE 4 ) moderately elongate, with mostly straight mesal margin and slightly sigmoid lateral margin, these joining in a broadly rounded apex; caudal face with a well-developed, pyramidal, external lobe (el), a weakly pronounced, indistinct, internal lobe (il) apically bearing 1–2 setae, a short, arched, median ridge (mr) just below the internal lobe, and a deep, oval, median groove (mg) between the two lobes; apical part covered with blunt teeth, except for a smooth, rounded groove (ag) in the middle, this being complementary to the frontodistal denticulate lobe of opisthomere; flagellum ( Fig. 4D and f View FIGURE 4 in Fig. 4A, C View FIGURE 4 ) relatively thick, somewhat longer than height of promere, densely covered with minute spines directed basad. Opisthomere ( Fig. 4A, B,E View FIGURE 4 ) very simply built, unipartite, considerably compressed meso-laterally, distally bulging; anterior face distally forming a bluntly denticulate lobe (dl), this being complementary to the promeral apical groove; postero-apical part covered with blunt setiform filaments (sf), these being very dense around the end of flagellum channel (fc); flagellum channel parabasally with a pointed lamellar outgrowth (lo) (= basal spine in species of Typhloiulini and Leptoiulini); seminal channel or groove absent.

Female sexual characters: Leg-pairs 1 and 2 significantly longer and thicker than following legs. Vulva ( Fig. 3D–F View FIGURE 3 ) mostly symmetric, slightly bent mesad; bursal valves ending up with short and broad hyaline protrusions; operculum (op) considerably higher than bursa, broad, with concave apical margin forming strongly pronounced ear-like flanges; both bursa and operculum with only one pair of distal setae. Receptaculum seminis (in Fig. 3D View FIGURE 3 ) composed of a very short and thin lateral tube (lt) leading to a rather small, spindle-shaped, lateral ampulla (la), and a very thin, slightly folded, mesal tube (mt) leading to a voluminous, sack-like, mesal ampulla (ma).

Remarks. The type locality ( Fig. 5 View FIGURE 5 ) of the new genus and species is situated in the Dobrostan Karst Massif — the largest karst region in the Western Rhodope Mts — which is inhabited by a considerable number of local endemics (including at the genus level) found in caves or in the Mesovoid Shallow Substratum (MSS). These include the millipedes Rhodoposoma rhodopinum ( Strasser, 1966) and Troglodicus tridentifer Gulička, 1967 (both Chordeumatida , Anthroleucosomatidae ), the former representing a monospecific genus, and Acanthopetalum rhodopinum Stoev, 2008 and Balkanopetalum beskovi Strasser, 1973 (both Callipodida , Schizopetalidae ). Other invertebrates known solely from caves in the area are Cordioniscus schmallfussi Andreev, 2002 , Rhodopioniscus beroni ( Vandel, 1965) and Trichoniscus petrovi Andreev, 2002 (Isopoda) , Kryptonesticus beroni ( Deltshev, 1977) (Araneae) , Rhodopiolla cavicola V.B. Guéorguiev, 1960 , Duvalius karelhurkai Farkać, 1990 , and D. nedelkovi B.V. Guéorguiev, 2006 (in Guéorguiev & Lobo 2006) ( Coleoptera ) ( Beron 2007, 2015).

Rhodopotyphlus mitovi gen. et sp. nov. is one of the nine species of Julidae known to produce defensive secretions containing significant amounts of phenol-based compounds ( Bodner et al. 2016). The semiochemistry of the species was revealed in detail by Makarov et al. (2017).