Afropachyiulus comatus ( Attems, 1899 )

Akkari, N. & Enghoff, H., 2008, Notes on the genus Afropachyiulus Schubart, 1960 (Diplopoda: Julida: Julidae) with a description of a new species from Algeria and a redescription of A. comatus (Attems, 1899), Zootaxa 1872, pp. 29-36 : 31-33

Afropachyiulus comatus ( Attems, 1899)

Figs 1–4.

Pachyiulus (Typhlopachyiulus) comatus Attems, 1899

Material examined. 1 adult male and 4 females; Tunisia (North West); Béja governorate, Nefza , grasslands with sparse trees, under stones, N36°57’, E08°56’, alt. 150 m, 2.x.2005, N. Akkari leg. (Natural History Museum of Denmark — ZMUC). Syntypes : 2 males, 1 female, Tunisia, Medjez el Bab, N36°38’, E09°36’, alt. 52 m, Attems det. (Coll. Musei Vindobonensis, Myriapoda, Inv. No. 3178, Naturhistorisches Museum Wien — NMW) .

Diagnosis. A species of the A. comatus group with 2–4 frontal setae, a whorl of ca. 30 densely set setae at the metatergal margin, length of setae 0.2–0.3 × body height; cavity between terminal processes of opisthomerital process finely spinose.

Description. (All measurements in mm)

Body tawny-brown, antennae and telson paler, prozonites glossy, metazonites deeply furrowed. Ventral side and legs yellowish. Body length measured along the line of ozopores: 11.8–20 (male), 7.5–24 (females); vertical diameter at the 15 th body ring: 0.8 –0.9 (males) and 0.7–1 (females); Ratio length/height: 8.4–26.2. Number of podous body rings: 42–49 (males) and 38–49 (females). 2–5 apodus rings (see Table 1). Head with two frontal setae. A whorl of long setae at the margin of metazonite ( Fig. 4). Number of setae: ca. 30. Length of setae: 0.2–0.3 × body height. Defense glands showing as prominent brownish spots. Ozopores opening behind suture. Male mandibles without protruding lobes. Ocelli missing. Length of antennae 1.6 × body height (male), 0.9× body height (female). Length of legs: 0.9 × body height (male), 0.7 × body height (female). Male legs with postfemoral sole pads. Telson rounded, with an extensive cover of long setae, no preanal projection.

For the description of the gonopods, we use the terminology proposed by Enghoff (1992).

Anterior gonopods ( Fig.1). Mesal margin (m) straight, lateral margin (l) convex, protruding as a bulge. Basal shaft (s) with parallel margins, almost half wide as bowl (b). Ridge (r) with blunt terminal projection and becoming slightly broader at the base. Lateral prominence (lp) a high oblique crest. Tip of gonopod bluntly angled. Mesal and lateral apical denticles (md, ld) almost of same size, rather slender, longer than broad, finely serrated marginally and fused at the basis.

Posterior gonopods ( Fig. 2). Mesomerital process (mt) simple, slender, very slightly curved, 1/3 shorter than opisthomerital process and slightly narrower at the tip. Opisthomerital process (ot) more complex with basally subparallel margins, apically divided into a triangular, laterad bent anterior process (ap) and a posterior process (pp) of roughly the same shape but slenderer and pointed at the tip. Mesal ridge (mr) running across posterior process. Lateral edge (le) finely serrated, running under anterior process, only seen from mesal side. Lateral and posterior processes surrounding a concavity (c) with sparse spines.

Vulvae ( Fig. 3). Operculum (o) of a rather rectangular shape, parallel-sided, higher than bursa. Bursa: valves (v) with bluntly rounded lamellar tips. Each valve with one row of 3–4 aligned apical setae and a variable number of scattered, nonapical ones. Receptaculum seminis consisiting of a straight, rather short apodematic tube (t) from which a stalked spherical sac (sp) originates.