Pseudotremia fergusoni, Shear, William A., 2011

Shear, William A., 2011, Cave millipeds of the United States. X. New species and records of the genus Pseudotremia Cope. 2. Species from Virginia, USA (Diplopoda, Chordeumatida, Cleidogonidae), Zootaxa 3109, pp. 1-38 : 20

Pseudotremia fergusoni , n. sp.

Figs. 47–51

Types: Male holotype and male paratype from Stone’s Cave #1, Smythe Co., VIRGINIA, collected 13 June 1970 by L. M. and B. L. Ferguson. Parts of the male paratype are mounted on SEM stub WS24–3.

Diagnosis: While much-branched, antler-like LAPs occur in Pseudotremi fongi Shear 2008 from West Virginia, P. fergusoni is the only Virginia species so endowed, and the branching of the LAPs is much more extensive. The type locality of P. fergusoni in Smythe Co. is far from the Greenbrier Co., West Virginia, distribution of P. fongi .

Etymology: I am pleased to name this species for Dr. Lynn Ferguson, Professor Emeritus of Biology at Longwood University, an accomplished speleobiologist and expert on cave Diplura. Suggested vernacular name: Ferguson’s Cave Milliped.

Description: Male holotype about 27 mm long, 2.6 mm wide, third antennal segment 1.3 mm long. Ocelli 19 on each side (fig. 47). Segmental shoulders pronounced; metazonites relatively rough laterally but smooth near midline, tubercles and rugae pronounced on dorsal lobe of segmental shoulders (fig. 48); lateral striations 7–9, complete (fig. 49).

Gonopods (fig. 50) large, protruding; angiocoxites adjoining basally, parallel, then diverging apically; MAPs with strong, semi-circularly curved subapical spines, apical spines absent; LAPs very large, broad, strongly curved toward midline, ventral branch rebranched, then dorsalmost of those branches divided again; dorsal branch also divided. Colpocoxites lobular, diverging, not mitten-shaped; VCP a low lobe, DCP long, curved, apically divided into two strongly recurved branches, resembling a grappling hook. Ninth legs (fig. 51) with strong basal lobe on coxoprefemur, which is deeply excavate mesally; three reduced apical podomeres distinctly articulated.

Female similar to male.

Notes: The female recorded above can be confidently included in this species because of the nearby locality and the characteristically smooth metazonites. Pseudotremia fergusoni is one of a series of species from both Virginia and West Virginia that have in common both large size and massive VCPs of various forms. This may or may not be evidence for relationship.

Figures

FIGURES 46 – 52. New species of Pseudotremia. Fig. 46, gonopods of Pseudotremia glaber, n. sp., lateral view. Figs. 47 – 50, P. f e r g u s o n i, n. sp. Fig. 47, ocelli. Fig. 48, metazonite, dorsal view. Fig. 49, metazonite, lateral view. Fig. 50, gonopods, ventral view; cc, colpocoxites; dcp, dorsal colpocoxite process; lap, lateral angiocoxite process; map, median angiocoxite process. Fig. 51, right ninth leg, anterior view. Fig. 52, P. jaculohamatum, n. sp., right ninth leg, anterior view.