Sphaerobelum, Verhoeff, 1924

Wesener, Thomas, 2019, First records of giant pill-millipedes from Laos (Diplopoda, Sphaerotheriida, Zephroniidae), Zootaxa 4563 (2), pp. 201-248 : 211

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.4563.2.1

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:CF79B01B-8B5F-4B3A-B642-2CADE4B339AF

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5934520

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03EB5506-E300-8C3E-A2ED-FF57FA75F80C

treatment provided by

Plazi

scientific name

Sphaerobelum
status

 

Key to species of Sphaerobelum (based mainly on male characters):

1. Femur of legs at mesal margin extended, with teeth ( Fig. 13A View FIGURE 13 ). Apical margin of prefemur modified, extended into a process..................................................................................................... 2

- Femur of legs not extended, well-rounded ( Fig. 17B View FIGURE 17 ). Prefemur unmodified........................................ 9

2. Teeth on femur only at apex: 4–6 ( Fig. 8A View FIGURE 8 ). Anterior telopod consisting of 3 podomeres............................. 3

- Teeth on whole mesal margin of femur:>10. Anterior telopod always consisting of 4 telopoditomeres................... 4

3. Female vulval operculum strongly projecting in two processes. Posterior telopod with telopoditomere 4 tip curved towards immovable finger like a small hook..................................................... S. bicorne Attems, 1938

- Female vulva projecting in a mesal process ( Fig. 8B View FIGURE 8 ). Posterior telopod: telopoditomere 4 straight, not hooked ( Fig. 10E View FIGURE 10 )......................................................................................... S. bolavensis n. sp.

4. Posterior telopod: telopoditomere 4 apex weakly curved towards and overlapping immovable finger. Anterior side of immovable finger with sclerotized spots opposite to tip of telopoditomere 4 ( Fig. 12E View FIGURE 12 ). Immovable finger in anterior view with a large sclerotized spine...................................................................................... 5

- Posterior telopod: telopoditomere 4 straight, not curved. No sclerotized spots or a spine at immovable finger ( Fig. 16E View FIGURE 16 )......................................................................................................... 6

5. Male antennae with 30–35 apical cones. Tergites covered with short setae. Legs orange. Prefemur mesal margin rounded ( Fig. 11B View FIGURE 11 )................................................................................... S. phouloei n. sp.

- Male antennae with 65–70 apical cones. Tergites glabrous. Legs light brown. Prefemur mesal margin with indentations like the femur ( Fig. 13A View FIGURE 13 )..................................................................... S. denticulatum n. sp.

6. Male antennae red or brown, with>70 apical cones. Tergites matte. First laterotergite weakly projecting posterior-laterally. ...................................................................................................... 7

- Male antennae yellow, with 50–55 apical cones. Tergites shiny, with setae. First laterotergite strongly projecting posterior-laterally................................................................................. S. spinatum n. sp.

7. Tergites glabrous, matte. Endotergum bristles only protruding slightly midway towards margin. Anterior telopod: telopoditomeres 3 and 4 not well-separated in posterior view ( Figs 21 View FIGURE 21 B–D)..................................... S. nigrum n. sp.

- Tergites hairy, with pits. Endotergum bristles long, protruding above tergite margin. Anterior telopod: telopoditomeres 3 and 4 well separated........................................................................................ 8

8. Colour dark olive, posterior tergal margins with a broad, light-brown band, antennae and legs conspicuously orange. Prefemur without lateral projection. Apical margins of vulval operculum equally converging towards a mesal tip. Tip of laterotergite 1 slightly extended, well-rounded. Male antennomere 6 thickened...................... S. cattiense Semenyuk et al., 2018

- Colour dark chestnut brown, posterior tergal margins black, legs dark brown, tips light brown. Lateral margin of prefemur with a sharp projection juxtaposed to coxal process. Apical margin of vulval operculum recessed centrally. Tip of laterotergite 1 slightly extended, sharp. Male antennomere 6 axe-shaped....................... S. konkakinhense Semenyuk et al., 2018

9. Posterior telopod without 'hook'......................................................................... 10

- Posterior telopod: telopoditomere 4 apically always with a short recurved 'hook' ( Fig. 21E View FIGURE 21 )........................... 13

10. Tergites covered with very long setae. Setae longer than width of tergites ( Fig. 6E View FIGURE 6 ). Immovable finger of posterior telopod with very long mesal extension ( Fig. 18C View FIGURE 18 ). Antennae green. Anterior telopod suture between telopoditomeres 3 and 4 weak, not visible in anterior view ( Figs 18A, B View FIGURE 18 ).......................................................... S. lachneeis n. sp.

- Tergites covered with short setae. Immovable finger of posterior telopod swollen, but not with such a long lateral extension. Anterior telopod: telopoditomeres 3 and 4 well separated...................................................... 11

11. Podomere 3 of anterior telopod distally with a lateral extension. Posterior telopod: telopoditomere 4 distally with an incurved process overlapping with process of podomere 2. Marginal setae of terga not reaching posterior margin. Tergite posterior margin well-rounded, not tesselated..................................................... S. separatum Attems, 1953

- Podomere 3 of anterior telopod cylindrical, without lateral extension. Posterior telopod: telopoditomere 4 without incurved process, but with 3 separate spines. Marginal setae of terga reaching posterior margin. Tergite posterior margin tesselated...................................................................................................... 12.

12. Antennae with>80 apical cones. Legs: femur 2x longer than wide. Tarsi with 7 or 8 ventral spines. Antennae and legs yellow. Vulval operculum well-rounded, not extending............................. S. truncatum Wongthamwanich et al., 2012

- Antennae with <70 apical cones. Legs: femur 1.7 times longer than wide. Tarsi with 7–10 ventral spines. Antennae and legs orange-red............................................................................ S. peterjaegeri n. sp.

13. Tergites glabrous, at least posterior 2/3 of each tergite....................................................... 14.

- Tergites covered with short setae. Dirty olive-brown. Head punctured and densely hirsute........ S. hirsutum Verhoeff, 1924

14. Anal shield with a short, or completely reduced locking carina. Posterior telopod: immovable finger, swollen at inner and mesal margin. Telopoditomere 4 at mid-point strongly curved and overlapping immovable finger ( Fig. 22G View FIGURE 22 )............ 15

- Anal shield with long locking carina,> 3X length of tergite carina. Posterior telopod: immovable finger, swollen only at inner margin; mesal margin straight..................................................... S. clavigerum Verhoeff, 1924

15. Anterior telopod: telopoditomeres 3 and 4 clearly separated ( Figs 21 View FIGURE 21 B–D). Antennae and legs brown......................................................................................................... S. splendidum n. sp.

- Anterior telopod: telopoditomeres 3 and 4 separation only partly visible in anterior view ( Fig. 22D View FIGURE 22 ). Antennae and legs red..................................................................................................... 16

16. Process of telopoditomere 2 projecting as high as basal 1/3 of telopoditomere 3+4 ( Fig. 22F View FIGURE 22 ). Anal shield with a single short locking carinae. Palpi of gnathochilarium, sensory cones located in single field........................ S. laoticum n. sp.

- Process of telopoditomere 2 projecting as high as basal 3/4 of telopoditomere 3+4 ( Fig. 25E View FIGURE 25 ). Anal shield without locking carinae. Palpi of gnathochilarium, sensory cones located in several clusters........................ S. schwendingeri n. sp.

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