Stygiiulus maximus ( Verhoeff, 1929 ) Vagalinski & Borissov & Bobeva & Canciani & Antić, 2022

Vagalinski, Boyan, Borissov, Simeon, Bobeva, Aneliya, Canciani, Giacomo & Antić, Dragan Ž., 2022, The mostly cavernicolous millipede genus Stygiiulus Verhoeff, 1929, stat. nov.: taxonomy, distribution and phylogenetic relationships (Diplopoda, Julida, Julidae), European Journal of Taxonomy 798, pp. 30-69 : 48

Stygiiulus maximus ( Verhoeff, 1929) comb. nov.

Fig. 10D

Mesoporoiulus maximu s Verhoeff, 1929: 19–20, fig. 2.

Typhloiulus (Stygiiulus) maximus – Verhoeff 1930: 9, 12–13, figs 1–2. — Manfredi 1932: 81.

Typhloiulus (Mesoporoiulus) maximus – Pretner & Strasser 1931: 87.

Typhloiulus maximus var. longicauda Strasser, 1962: 59–60 , fig. 71.

Typhloiulus maximus var. maximus – Strasser 1962: 59, fig. 72.

Typhloiulus maximus – Attems 1949: 145. — Strasser 1971a: 14. — Vagalinski et al. 2015: 342–343 .

not Typhloiulus tobias – Attems 1927: 250–251, figs 352–354.

Diagnosis

A species of Stygiiulus stat. nov. with normal mouthparts. Distinguishable from congeners by the combination of certain gonopodal characters ( Fig. 10D ), viz., a mostly straight pro- and mesomere, and an opisthomere with a faint and blunt posterior hump, a marginally broad (not tapering) and deeply serrated velum, and a solenomere with both the anterior and the posterior solenomeral branch being well developed and clearly discernible.

Distribution

This species has the widest distribution of all representatives of the genus Stygiiulus stat. nov. Known from numerous caves, as well as epigean habitats, ranging from the Julian Alps in the east, across the southern parts of the Carnic Alps Range, through the Venetian Prealps, all the way to the Piave River in the west ( Fig. 13 , pink squares).

Remark

Attems (1927: 250, 251, figs 352–354) gave a short description and drawings of what he thought was already described as S. tobias comb. nov. from Monte Cavallo (Lombardy). Just two/three years later, Verhoeff (1930) described another blind julid, S. maximus comb. nov., from a cave in the same area. What is evident from the gonopod drawings of both Attems and Verhoeff alone – that is that Attems’ (1927) record actually refers to S. maximus comb. nov. – was already confirmed by Strasser (1962: 60) based on re-examination of the specimens from Monte Cavallo.

Figures

Fig. 10. Left gonopods of species of Stygiiulus stat. nov., mesal views. A. S. ausugi (Manfredi, 1953) comb.nov.,topotype♂(NHMD).B.S.illyricus(Verhoeff,1929)comb.nov.,redrawnfromVerhoeff (1929). C. S. insularis (Strasser, 1938) comb. nov., redrawn from Antić et al. (2018). D. S. maximus (Verhoeff, 1929) comb. nov., redrawn from Verhoeff (1930). E. S. seewaldi (Strasser, 1967) comb. nov., redrawn and modified from Strasser (1967). F. S. tobias (Berlese, 1886) comb. nov., ♂ from Grotta [Cave] del Subiolo (NHMD). Abbreviations: do = distal outgrowth of velum. Drawn not to scale.

Fig. 13. General distribution of the species of the genus Stygiiulus stat. nov.