Zephronia montana ( Karsch, 1881 ) Karsch, 1881

Wesener, Thomas, 2015, The Giant Pill-Millipedes of Nepal (Diplopoda, Sphaerotheriida, Zephroniidae) *, Zootaxa 3964 (3), pp. 301-320 : 302-303

Zephronia montana ( Karsch, 1881) new combination

Figures 1 , 2 a

Sphaeropoeus montanus Karsch, 1881: 31 (first description) Zephronia montana —Preudhomme de Borre 1884: 25 (list) Sphaeropoeus montanus — Attems 1914: 143 (list)

Sphaeropoeus montanus — Attems 1936: 192 (list)

Sphaeropoeus montanus — Moritz & Fischer 1974: 369 (list) Sphaeropoeus montanus — Jeekel 2001: 24 (list).

Material examined. 1 F holotype, ZMB 55. 'Himalaya', coll. Westermann.

Brief re-description. Of medium length, 39 mm long, 19 mm wide (at tergite 2). Colour faded brown, legs and antennae faded orange-brownish. Tergites with tiny setae ( Fig. 2 A). Antennomeres 1–5 short and of equal length, antennomere 6 enlarged, but not axe-shaped, disc carrying 65/72 apical cones. Pleurite 1 and 2 well-rounded. Leg 1 with 2, 2 with 4, 3 with 7, 4–21 with 7 or 8 ventral spines. Tarsi 3–21 with single apical spine. Coxae 3–21 with large, well-rounded coxal processes. Anal shield well rounded, glabrous, underside with one very small, dot-like locking carina.

Female vulva with a narrow operculum, barely projecting above coxa ( Fig. 1 ). Interior (mesal) tip of operculum protruding to highest point; shallowest point reached slightly lateral of the tip.

Remarks. The vulva of the holotype is very similar to that of Zephronia species living in the area. The genus Sphaeropoeus is restricted to the Malayan peninsula in mainland Asia and not likely to occur in the Himalayas. For this reason, the species is transferred to the genus Zephronia .

Other recorded characters, such as the presence of only a dot-like locking carina, and the presence of setose tergites, are not present in any Nepalese Sphaerotheriida species.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Zephronia montana (Karsch, 1881) new combination, holotype ZMB 55, coxa 2 with vulva, posterior view. Abbreviations: Bu = bursa of vulva; Co = coxa; O = operculum, Pre = prefemur. Scale bar = 1 mm.

FIGURE 2. SEM of tergites or endoterga of different Zephronia and Kophosphaera species. A: Zephronia montana (Karsch, 1881), ZMB 55, tergite surface; B: Zephronia nepalensis n. sp., holotype, SMF, endotergum; C: Kophosphaera politissima Attems, 1935, ZFMK MYR 4176, endotergum; D: K. shivapuri n. sp., holotype, SMF, endotergum; E: K. martensi n. sp., holotype, SMF, endotergum.