Levizonus thaumasius Attems, 1898

Mikhaljova, Elena V., 2021, Review of the millipede genus Levizonus Attems, 1898, with description of a new species from the Far East of Russia (Diplopoda, Polydesmida, Xystodesmidae), European Journal of Taxonomy 751, pp. 159-184 : 176-178

Levizonus thaumasius Attems, 1898

Figs 10–13

Sulciferus (Levizonus) thaumasius Attems, 1898: 352 , fig. 112 (holotype not designated; location of types is unknown; type locality: Vladivostok, Russia).

Levizonus orientalis Lokschina & Golovatch, 1977: 77 , figs 4–5 (holotype ♂, from Varfolomeevka, Yakovlevskiy District, Primorskiy krai, Russia, in ZMUM; synonymized by Golovatch 1979).

Sulciferus (Levizonus) thaumasius – Attems 1904: 48.

Levizonus thaumasius – Attems 1931: 69, fig. 105; 1938: 173, figs 190–191. — Verhoeff 1936: 152. — Takakuwa 1942: 43. — Jeekel 1971: 270. — Golovatch 1979: 17, figs — Lokšina & Golovatch 1979: 385. — Mikhaljova 1981a: 64, fig. 3, map (fig. 5); 1983: 81; 1984: 14; 1988: 70; 1990: 136; 1993: 33; 1997: 143; 1998: 55, figs 210–217, map 12; 2002: 150; 2004: 249, figs 623–637, map 32; 2009a: 5; 2009b: 606; 2016: 22; 2017: 299, figs 670–684, map 43. — Mikhaljova & Petukhova 1983: 53. — Mikhaljova & Bakurov 1989: 40. — Ganin 1997: 121; 2009: 153; 2011: 336. — Tanabe 1994: 108; 2002: 2178. — Mikhaljova & Korsós 2003: 234. — Marek et al. 2014: 73.

Levizonus orientalis – Mikhaljova 1978: 157.

Diagnosis

The species differs from congeners mainly by the configuration of the central edge of the gonopod telopodite apex, which is smooth (rarely) or with one to numerous small outgrowths ( Figs 10B , 11B – several outgrowths) (vs without outgrowths in L. laqueatus , L. montanus , L. takakuwai ), the gonopod telopodite with a low subapical not knee-shaped outgrowth (K1) ( Fig. 10D ) (vs without the outgrowth in other congeners excluding L. nakhodka sp. nov. and L. circularis ; with K in L. nakhodka sp. nov.; not knee-shaped in L. circularis ) and with a curved SL ( Fig. 10B ) positioned laterally (vs straight in other congeners excluding L. circularis ; positioned mesad in L. circularis ).

Material examined

RUSSIA • 1 ♂; Primorskiy krai, Shkotovskiy District, near Anisimovka, Litovka Mountain ; 22 Sep. 2007; A. Rodionov leg.; mixed forest; FSCB 12007 • 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀; Primorskiy krai, Ussuriyskiy District, environs of village Utesnoe; 7 Oct. 2016; E.V. Mikhaljova and A.I. Konyukhov leg.; broadleaved forest, litter; FSCB 12016 .

Distribution

Russia: Far East, Primorskiy krai.

Remarks

Originally described from the environs of Vladivostok, Primorskiy krai, Russia ( Attems, 1898), this species is common and abundant in the western and central parts of the Primorskiy krai ( Mikhaljova 2017). The dorsum is often distinctively patterned ( Fig. 12A–B ). Its abundance ranges from 24 to 86.5 ind./m 2 in montane forests (the maximum abundance recorded is 172.5 ind./m 2), but this species is not numerous (4 ind./m 2) in floodplain forests ( Mikhaljova 1988). Vulva as in Fig. 10E .

Figures

Fig. 10. Levizonus thaumasius Attems, 1898, ♂♂, ♀ (FSCB 12007, 12016). A. Gonopod, lateral view. B. Gonopod apex, lateral view. C. Gonopod, mesal view. D. Gonopod apex, mesal view. E. Vulva, mesal view. F. Gonopod apex, lateral view. Scale bars: A = 200 μm; C, E–F = 100 μm; B, D = 20 μm.

Fig. 11. Levizonus thaumasius Attems, 1898, ♂♂ (FSCB 12016). A–B. Gonopod apex, ventral view. Scale bars: A = 100 μm; B = 20 μm.

Fig. 12. Levizonus thaumasius Attems, 1898, ♂ and ♀. A. Habitus, dorsal view. B. Copulation. Photographed not to scale. Photo by the author.

Fig. 13. Distribution of species of the genus Levizonus Attems, 1898. Filled square: L. circularis Takakuwa, 1942. Filled circle: L. distinctus Mikhaljova, 1990. Open square: L. laqueatus Mikhaljova, 1981. Open triangle: L. nakhodka Mikhaljova sp. nov. Filled triangle: L. malewitschi Lokschina & Golovatch, 1977. Filled diamond: L. thaumasius Attems, 1898. Heart: L. takakuwai (Verhoeff, 1941). Oval: L. montanus (Takakuwa, 1941).