Xystopyge minnae, 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 : 117-120

Xystopyge minnae sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:5A15CE18-B31F-477C-BCB9-5878915D6E06

Figs 71–72

Diagnosis

Differs from all other Xystopyge species by the large, crescent-shaped distolateral coxal spine paralleled by an equally long lateral outgrowth from the cucullus, and by the set of one smooth plus two serrate distal processes on the telomere.

Etymology

After my granddaughter Minna Margrethe Enghoff Mogensen.

Material examined (total 2 ♂♂)

Holotype TANZANIA • ♂; Tanga Region, Muheza District , Nilo FR ; 4°52′ S, 38°38′ E; 24 Sep.–28 Nov. 2000; Frontier Tanzania leg.; NHMD 621772 .

Paratype TANZANIA • 1 ♂ (incomplete); same collection data as for holotype; NHMD 621773 .

Description

SIZE. Length 40 mm. Diameter 2.5–2.6 mm. 51 podous rings; no podous rings in front of telson.

COLOUR. After 20 years in alcohol faded to light (greyish) yellow, with darker yellow to amber posterior parts of metazona; traces of a relatively narrow mid-dorsal pale stripe still evident.

SUPRALABRAL SETAE. 5–6.

MANDIBULAR STIPES. Subrectangular, ventro-distal corner sharp, distal margin very shallowly concave.

ANAL VALVES. Each with a medium-size dorsal spine and two sessile setae on slightly raised margin; no ventral spine.

LIMBUS ( Fig. 71D ). Margin with subrectangular lobes, but looks worn, so lobes may really be longer.

LEGS. With postfemoral and tibial pads from leg-pair 4 until midbody, size of pads decreasing towards posterior.

FIRST PAIR OF LEGS ( Fig. 71A–C ). Prefemoral lobes short, rounded-triangular in ventral view. Three to four long coxosternal setae (CXS) adjacent to lateral side of prefemoral process; prefemur with two mesapical setae (APS) and ca 10 partly peglike lateral setae/sensilla (LPS).

GONOPOD STERNUM (STERNUM 8). Long-triangular, twice as long as broad, as in X. robusta (s.s.), but slightly stouter (cf. VandenSpiegel & Pierrard 2004: fig. 1.)

STERNUM 9 ( Fig. 71J ). Subrectangular, twice as broad as long, with concave distal and lateral margins.

GONOPOD COXA ( Fig. 71E–I ). Proplica (PP) simple, proplical lobe (PPL) visible in anterior view. Lateral coxal spine (LCS) very large, crescent-shaped, directed distad, parallel to lateral process of cucullus. Metaplica (MP) with an oblique distal flange (mpf) opposing proplical lobe; basal metaplical flange (MF) small. Cucullus (CU) in anterior view subrectangular, with a lateral process (cup) paralleling lateral coxal spine.

GONOPOD TELOPODITE ( Fig. 72 ). Arculus 135°. Solenomere (SLM) slightly shorter than telomere (TM), resting in TM for most of its length, artificially freed on illustrated specimen; apically bifurcating into a broader, pointed striate branch (sdl) and a slender pointed brach (sdp) with a small lateral tine. Basal solenomeral spine (BSS) slightly curved, arising perpendicularly from main body of solenomere (broken in illustrated holotype, outline added from paratype). Telomere (TM) slender, with a small thornlike outgrowth (tho) ca at midlength, apically with three processes, one (atp1) smooth and regularly curved, two (atp2, atp3) of irregular shape, coarsely serrate.

Distribution

Known only from the Nilo FR in East Usambara Mts. See Beharrell et al. (2002) for information about this area.

Figures

Fig. 71. Xystopyge minnae sp. nov., holotype, ♂ (NHMD 621772). A–C. First pair of legs. A. Sublateral view. B. Anterior view. C. Ventral view. D. Midbody dorsal limbus. E–I. Left gonopod coxa. E. Anterior view. F. Anterior-mesal view. G. Mesal view. H. Posterior view. I. Lateral view. J. Sternum 9. Abbreviations: APS =mesapical prefemoral setae; CU = cucullus; cup =cucullar process; CXS =coxosternal setae; LCS = lateral coxal spine; LPS =lateral prefemoral setae/sensilla; MF= metaplical flange; MP=metaplica; mpf = metaplical distal flange; PP =proplica; PPL proplical lobe. Scale bars: A–C, E–J= 0.1 mm; D =0.01 mm.

Fig. 72. Xystopyge minnae sp. nov., holotype, ♂ (NHMD 621770), left gonopod telopodite. A. Anterior view. B. Posterior view. C. Ventral view. D. Tip of telomere, anterior view. E. Tip of solenomere and telomere, posterior-mesal view. F. Dorsal view. Abbreviations: atp1, atp2, atp3 =apical telomeral processes; BSS=basal solenomeral spine (reconstructed); sdl=solenomeral distal microstriate branch; sdp=solenomeral distal spinelike branch; SLM =solenomere; tho =telomeral thornlike outgrowth; TM =telomere Scale bars: A–C, F =0.2 mm; D =0.05 mm; E= 0.1 mm.