Chaleponcus soerensenae, Enghoff, 2022

Enghoff, Henrik, 2022, Mountains of millipedes. The family Odontopygidae in the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania (Diplopoda, Spirostreptida), European Journal of Taxonomy 803, pp. 1-136 : 54-57

Chaleponcus soerensenae sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:26C4F108-3B05-41CC-97B5-065209EC6CA9

Figs 34–36

Diagnosis

Differs from all other species of Chaleponcus except C. schioetzae sp. nov. by the large metaplical palette. Differs from C. schioetzae sp. nov. by having a latero-posterior coxal spine.

Etymology

After Line Sørensen, Danish zoologist, author of a Tanzanian millipede species ( Sørensen 1997) and collector of several of the odotopygids described in the present paper.

Material examined (total 1 ♂)

Holotype TANZANIA • ♂; Morogoro Region, Morogoro District; Ruvu FR ; 06°53′–07°02′ S, 37°49′–37°54′ E; 200–400 m a.s.l.; Sep. 2000; Nike Doggart leg.; lowland forest; Uluguru Mountains Biodiversity Conservation Project; NHMD 621735 .

Description (male)

SIZE. Length 50 mm, diameter 3.3 mm, 56 podous rings, no apodous rings in front of telson.

COLOUR. After 18 years in alcohol somewhat faded. Head, collum and antennae black, except white antennomeres 6–7. Legs pale yellowish. Body rings: prozonites pale yellow, anterior ⅔ of metazonites black, posterior ⅓ amber. Telson black. No traces of dorsal light stripe.

SUPRALABRAL SETAE. Indistinct.

MANDIBULAR STIPES. Distal margin of stipes almost straight, only very shallowly bilobed.

ANAL VALVES. With strong dorsal spine/hook, no ventral ‘corner’, free margins raised, each with three sessile setae.

LIMBUS ( Fig. 35F ). Weakly striate, with cellular structure, margin completely straight, no lobes.

LEGS. Postfemoral and tibial pads well-developed from leg-pair 4 until ca ring 15, then becoming smaller and eventually disappearing.

FIRST PAIR OF LEGS ( Fig. 34A–C ). Prefemoral lobes relatively long, slender-triangular in ventral view. Four to five coxosternal setae (CXS) close to lateral margin of coxosternum, well separated from prefemoral lobes. Prefemora with two long mesapical setae (APS), a few shorter setae (ss) just basal to APS and a scattering of peglike sensilla (LPS) over most of ventral side of lobe Femora apparently more densely setose than in most other odontopygids.

STERNUM 9 ( Fig. 34D ). Pentagonal with parallel side margins (‘house-shaped’). GONOPOD COXA ( Fig. 35A–E ). With a slender shaft with a slightly convex lateral margin; apically strongly expanded, roughly triangular; with a short latero-posterior spine (lcs) a little distal to mid-length. Proplica (PP) with straight mesal margin, ending in small proplical lobe (PPL). Metaplica (MP) basally with a poorly delimited flange (MF), apically with a very large mesal palette (mpa) with irregularly undulate margin, in posterior view with rounded-triangular lobe (ml).

GONOPOD TELOPODITE ( Fig. 36 ). Arculus 90°. Torsotope (TT) moderately compact, no post-torsal spine. Post-torsal narrowing (PN) not very pronounded. Solenomere (SLM) very long, much longer than telomere, whiplike, with several coils, tip simple, without a proximal spine. Telomere (TM) basally narrow, shortly after separation from solenomere expanded into very complicated folded sheet with a small basal, triangular lobe (tml1) on anterior side, a simple apical (ventral) lobe (tml3) overlying a smaller, simple lobe (tml2), and a large distal, irregularly circular domed lobe (tml4) with a broad, rounded distal (ventral) incision.

Distribution and habitat

Known only from lowland forest in the Ruvu FR in the Uluguru Mts, altitude 200–400 m a.s.l.

Remarks

See under C. schioetzae sp. nov.

Figures

Fig. 34. Chaleponcus soerensenae sp. nov., holotype, ♂ (NHMD 621735). A–C. First pair of legs. A. Sublateral view. B. Anterior view. C. Subventral view. D. Sternum 9. Abbreviations: APS =mesapical prefemoral setae; CXS =coxosternal setae; LPS =lateral prefemoral sensilla; ss =smaller prefemoral setae. Scale bars =0.1 mm.

Fig. 35. Chaleponcus soerensenae sp. nov., holotype, ♂ (NHMD 621735). A–E. Left gonopod coxa. A. Anterior view. B. Mesal view. C. Lateral view. D. Lateral view. E. Distal view. F. Midbody dorsal limbus. Abbreviations: lcs =latero-posterior coxal spine; MF = metaplical flange; ml = metaplical lobe; MP =metaplica;mpa =metaplical palette;PP = proplica;PPL =proplical lobe. Scale bars:A–D=0.1 mm; E =0.05 mm; F =0.01 mm.

Fig. 36. Chaleponcus soerensenae sp. nov., holotype, ♂ (NHMD 621735), left gonopod telopodite. A. Anterior view, inset: close-up of solenomere tip. B. Posterior view. C. Ventral view. D. Mesal view. Abbreviations: PN =post-torsal narrowing; SLM =solenomere; tml1-4 =telomeral lobes;TT =torsotope. Scale bars =0.1 mm.