Trichopeltis reflexus, Liu, Weixin, Golovatch, Sergei & Tian, Mingyi, 2017

Liu, Weixin, Golovatch, Sergei & Tian, Mingyi, 2017, Three new cavernicolous species of the millipede genus Trichopeltis Pocock, 1894 from southern China (Diplopoda, Polydesmida, Cryptodesmidae), ZooKeys 710, pp. 1-14 : 8-10

Trichopeltis reflexus sp. n. Figs 7, 8, 9

Type material.

Holotype> (SCAU), China, Hunan Province, Chenzhou City, Linwu County, Xianghualing Town, II Dong Cave, 19.VI.2009, leg. Mingyi Tian & Zhihong Xue (CHIhn09-LWX03).

Paratypes.

1>, 3 + (SCAU), same data as the holotype.

Etymology.

To emphasize that most of the paraterga are upturned.

Diagnosis.

Differs from all congeners except T. cavernicola Golovatch, 2016 by the clearly upturned paraterga, and from all congeners by the shapes of the various lobes which are all confined to the distal third of the gonopodal telopodite. Among congeners, only T. latellai Golovatch, Geoffroy, Mauries & VandenSpiegel, 2010, from two caves in Guizhou Province ( Golovatch et al. 2010) strongly resembles T. reflexus sp. n. in showing a similarly condensed apical third of the gonopodal telopodite, but that in the latter species is less strongly curved, untwisted and more elaborate. See also Key below.

Description.

Length of both sexes ca. 10 mm, width of midbody pro- and metazonae 0.8 and 2.5 (>) or 1.0 and 2.5 mm (+), respectively. Coloration in alcohol nearly pallid. Body with 20 segments (Fig. 7). All characters as in T. bellus sp. n. (Figs 1 3), except as follows. In width, head <collum <segment 2 <4 <3 = 5 <6 15; thereafter body increasingly tapered towards telson (Fig. 7).

Collum with 3 4 irregular transverse rows of small and sharpened tubercles. Marginal lobules on collum: 13+13 small, setigerous, nearly sharp anteriorly and 3+3 similarly small, dentiform laterally (Fig. 8A B).

Mid-dorsal regions on segments 2 16 with two regular, transverse rows of 3+3 and 4+4 tubercles similar to those on collum (Fig. 8A B), extending onto paraterga, the latter with 2 3 similar tubercles; following metaterga with three rows of 3+3, 2+2 and 3+3 tubercles (Figs 7A, 8E F). Caudal margin of mid-dorsal region of metaterga with 12 16 lobules (Fig. 8A B, E).

Paraterga very strongly developed (Figs 7 8), lateral margin narrow and upturned, but still remaining below a regularly convex dorsum (Fig. 8D). Paraterga with 3 4 lateral and 4 6 caudal lobules (Figs 7 8).

Tergal setae simple and short, mostly abraded (Fig. 7A).

Epiproct short, conical (Fig. 8F).

Pleurosternal carinae poorly-developed, but present on segments 2 and 3.

Sterna clearly broadened only between> coxae 9. Gonopod aperture suboval (Fig. 8C).

Legs short, but slender, about 1.2 times as long as midbody height (Figs 7 8).

Gonopods (Fig. 9) complex only in apical third of telopodite. Coxa as usual, short and squarish, with one long seta. Prefemoral part as usual, with only a few particularly long setae distally. Telopodite slightly curved caudally, without femoral processes at base. Acropodite strongly condensed, tripartite, with a large, subtriangular, more basal lobe (b) and a short, squarish, more distal lobe (d), both similar in size and lying on lateral side; caudal to both b and d with a few differently shaped lobules (lo); apical lobe (l) highest, acuminate, folded. Seminal groove (sg) entirely mesal, terminating without pulvillus near lo, forming no distinct solenomere.

Remark.

Based on the pallid body and slender legs, this seems to be a troglobite.