Hyleoglomeris speophila, Golovatch & Geoffroy & Mauriès, 2006

Golovatch, Sergei I., Geoffroy, Jean-Jacques & Mauriès, Jean-Paul, 2006, Review of the millipede genus Hyleoglomeris Verhoeff, 1910 (Diplopoda, Glomerida, Glomeridae), with descriptions of new species from caves in Southeast Asia, Zoosystema 28 (4), pp. 887-915 : 902

Hyleoglomeris speophila n. sp.

( Fig. 9 )

TYPE MATERIAL. — Vietnam. Hai Phong, Cat Ba Island, Phu Long, Thien Luong Cave, 29.IX.1998, leg. L. Deharveng, holotype ♂ ( MNHN CC 157).

ETYMOLOGY. — To emphasize cavernicoly.

DIAGNOSIS. — Differs from congeners in some troglomorphic traits, combined with a relatively broad caudofemoral process of the telopod.

DESCRIPTION

Length 8.5 mm, width 4.1 mm.

Coloration entirely pallid, unpigmented. Antennomere 6 about 2.0 times longer than wide, antennomere 7 very short; 6 poorly visible, unpigmented but convex ocelli on each side of head; Tömösváry’s organ transverse-oval, about twice as wide as long.

Collum with two transverse striae.

Thoracic shield with a rather narrow hyposchism slightly surpassing the caudal tergal contour; 9 transverse striae, of which 6 start above the schism and 5 (neither the first nor the last one though) cross the dorsum.

Male pygidium virtually not sinuate medially at caudal margin.

Male leg 17 ( Fig. 9A ) with a high, rounded outer coxal lobe; telopodite 4-segmented.

Male leg 18 ( Fig. 9B ) with a rounded syncoxital notch; telopodite 4-segmented.

Telopods ( Fig.9C, D ) with a rather small, roundly subtrapeziform syncoxital lobe flanked by two setose horns crowned with an apical setoid. Prefemur and femur micropapillate nearly throughout. Caudomedial outgrowth of femur wide at base, that of tibia with a pilose tubercle at base.Tarsus narrowly rounded apically, almost pointed.

REMARKS

Based on morphological evidence, this new species resembles several epigean congeners from China or Indochina, such as H. maculata n. sp. (see above), H. electa in the sense of Attems (1938) and others, but none of these shows the troglomorphic features of complete depigmentation and elongate Tömösváry’s organs. However, the ocelli are still discernible and neither the antennae nor the legs are particularly long. To prove that we face a troglobite, additional observations and material are necessary. In general, Vietnam supports numerous karst caves rich in troglobites ( Deharveng et al. 2001), while Thien Luong Cave is known to mainly harbour troglobitic arthropods (Deharveng pers. comm.).

Figures

FIG. 9. — Hyleoglomeris speophila n. sp., ♂ holotype: A, leg 17; B, leg 18; C, telopod, front view; D, distal part of telopod, caudal view. Scale bar: 0.4 mm.