Sphaeropoeus maculatus (Verhoeff, 1924)

Semenyuk, Irina, Golovatch, Sergei I. & Wesener, Thomas, 2020, Some new or poorly-known Zephroniidae (Diplopoda, Sphaerotheriida) from Vietnam, ZooKeys 930, pp. 37-60 : 37

Sphaeropoeus maculatus (Verhoeff, 1924) Figs 3C , 7 , 10

Tonkinobelum maculatum Verhoeff, 1924: 62; Attems 1936: 192 (list); Wang 1967: 484 (list); Korsós 1983: 118 (list); Golovatch 1983 (list)

Sphaeropoeus maculatus - Jeekel 2001: 23 (list); Enghoff et al. 2004: 32 (list); Wesener 2016a: 40 (list); Wesener 2016b: 146 (list).

Material examined.

Lectotype ♂ (HNMB 2858/1), designated here to fix the name for future studies and to avoid taxonomic confusion. Vietnam, ‘Tonkin’, Mau Son (= Mau Son Mountains, Lang Son Province), H. Fruhstorfer leg.

Redescription.

Measurements: ca. 58 mm long, 23.1 mm (2nd), up to 23.9 mm (8th) wide, 13.5 mm (2nd) up to 15.1 mm height (8th the highest). Coloration: apparently faded after more than 90 years in ethanol. Head, collum and appendages dark green, remaining tergites castaneous brown. Head: eyes with>70 ocelli. Antennae very short, protruding up to centre of head. Antennomeres 1-5 with few longer setae, 6th densely pubescent. Antennomere 6 towards disc with a single row of sensilla basiconica. Antennomere 6 strongly axe-shaped, twice as wide as antennomeres 1-5. ♂ with>140 apical cones. Palpi of gnathochilarium located in a single field. Collum: glabrous except for anterior edges. Thoracic shield: with wide and deep grooves, 3 or 4 weak crests present at posterior corner. Tergites: surface glabrous and smooth except for paratergite depressions. Midbody paratergite tips projecting posteriorly. Anal shield: well-rounded, glabrous. Locking carinae rudimentary, very short, located close to last laterotergite. Endotergum: inner section lacking any spines or setae. Middle area lacking discernible cuticular impressions. Apically, 3-4 very dense rows of short marginal bristles, tips of longest setae barely protruding beyond midpoint towards tergal margin (Fig. 3C ). Bristles not smooth, but barbed, with numerous small spinicles. Stigmatic plates: first well-rounded, not triangular in shape. Laterotergites : first elongated into a strongly tapering sharp process. Laterotergite 2 also extended, with a very sharp tip. Laterotergites 3 and following not extended, well-rounded. Legs: first with 2, second with 5, third with 8 ventral and a single apical spine. Leg-pairs 4-21 with 10-12 ventral spines. Coxa process visible, well-rounded (Fig. 7A ). Femur 2.1, tarsus 4 times longer than wide. Femur with a very long ridge (Fig. 7A ). Male gonopore: opening covered with a single, apically membranous plate. Anterior telopod (Fig. 7B-D ): four podomeres, first two of equal length, 3rd half as long as 2nd discarding its process, 4th slightly shorter and more slender than 3rd. Telopoditomere 2 with a strong, curved process. Telopoditomere 3 posteriorly with a shorter process juxtaposed to apex process of telopoditomere 2. Telopoditomere 4 conical, lacking any spines, lobes or teeth. Posterior telopod (Fig. 7E, F ): podomeres 3 and 4 longer than process of podomere 2. Podomere 4 short, conical, with a membranous ledge and no visible spines. Podomere 3, 2.8 times longer than wide. Its excavated inner margin with a membranous ledge, in posterior aspect with ca. 4 small crenulated teeth. Immovable finger wide, apically tapering, tip curved towards movable finger. Membranous area with at least one large membranous lobe. Podomeres 1-3 in anterior view with numerous setae, in posterior view telopoditomere 3 with few setae mainly located at margins. Podomere 4 in both aspects glabrous, except for 3 or 4 long setae at mesal margin.

Remarks.

Verhoeff described the species based on four syntypes. Only one syntype could be relocated; the others may be considered as likely lost. As the sole available syntype is a mature ♂ in very good condition, this specimen has been designated as the lectotype. ♀ unknown.

Jeekel (2001) thought the specimen had been mislabeled, because no other species of the genus was then known from Vietnam or continental Asia north of Singapore. However, with the new combination of Zephronia manca (see above), and the two new species described below, the provenance of S. maculatus may well be correct.

Figures

Figure 3. Endoterga of midbody segments, SEM micrographs. A Sphaerobelum bicorne Attems, 1938, ♂ (ZFMK) B Sphaerobelum pumatense sp. nov., ♂ holotype C Sphaeropoeus maculatus (Verhoeff, 1924), ♂ lectotype D Sphaeropoeus bidoupensis sp. nov., ♂ holotype E Sphaeropoeus honbaensis sp. nov., ♂ holotype. Scale bars: 0.2 mm.

Figure 7. Sphaeropoeus maculatus (Verhoeff, 1924), ♂ lectotype. A Left leg 9, posterior view B-D right anterior telopod, anterior, lateral and posterior views, respectively E, F right posterior telopod, anterior and posterior views, respectively. Scale bars: 1.0 mm.

Figure 10. Habitus photograph of the lectotype (HNHM 2858 / 1) of Sphaeropoeus maculatus (Verhoeff, 1924), lateral view, and a distribution map of all other relevant zephroniid species in Vietnam. A Sphaerobelum bicorne Attems, 1938 (new record) B Sphaerobelum bicorne Attems, 1938 (old record) C Sphaerobelum pumatense sp. nov. D Sphaeropoeus manca (Attems, 1936) E Sphaeropoeus maculatus (Verhoeff, 1924) F Sphaeropoeus honbaensis sp. nov. G Sphaeropoeus bidoupensis sp. nov.