Hessebius pervagatus Zalesskaja, 1978

Dyachkov, Yurii V., 2023, On the Chilopoda fauna of the Pamir Mts, Tajikistan, with notes on the highest records of chilopod species in Middle Asia, Ecologica Montenegrina 65, pp. 67-75 : 69-70

Hessebius pervagatus Zalesskaja, 1978

Figs 1 , 5

Hessebius pervagatus Zalesskaja 1978: 51 .

Hessebius pervagatus – Dyachkov et al. 2022: 167.

Material. Tajikistan, Gorno-Badakhshan Region: 5 males, 6 females, 2 juv. ( ASU No. 580) , 19 males ( ISEA chilop-58), and 32 females ( ISEA chilop-57), near Rivak Village , N37°37'59" E71°48'11", mountain steppe, under stones near stream, 2600 m, 23.VII.2023, coll . YD; 16 males ( ASU No. 593) and 17 females ( ASU No. 594), near Rivak Village , N37°37'59" E71°49'22", Populus , in litter and soil, 2800 m, 23.VII.2023, coll . YD; 2 males, 3 females ( ZISP chilo-201), Shugnan [District], Rivak [Village, N37°38'41" E71°47'14"], VIII.1897, coll . AK; 5 males, 3 females, 1 juv. ( ZISP chilo-195), confluence of Radanok and Bartang rivers, [19]07, coll . AK; 1 female ( ASU No. 588) and 3 males, 9 females ( ASU No. 589), Bartang River Valley , N37°58'35" E71°50'21", thickets of Betula and Prunus (Cerasus) , under stones, in soil, 2300 m, 7– 8.VII.2023, coll . YD, AF; 16 males ( ASU No. 583) and 16 females ( ASU No. 585), Khozratishoh Range, Khaburobot Pass , N38°37'13" E70°43'8", meadow, under stones, 3300 m, 26–27.VII.2023, coll . YD; 1 male ( ASU No. 581), near Bakchigir Mountain, surroundings of Koitezek Mountain Pass, N37°31'23" E72°43'41", scree, 4700–4900 m, 22.VII.2023, coll . AF; 1 female ( ASU No. 582), the same locality, N37°31'17" E72°44'17", stony alpine meadow, 4300–4700 m, 22.VII.2023, coll . AF; 6 males, 3 females ( ISEA chilop-52), 2 km N Ak-Baital Pass , N38°33'23" E73°33'50", stony desert, under stones, 4550–4700 m, 19.VII.2023, coll . YD; 2 males, 2 females ( ASU No. 586), South Alichur Range, Kargush Mt. Pass, N37°28'45" E73°04'54", mountain desert, under stones, 4400 m, 16.VII.2023, coll . YD; 10 males, 7 females ( ASU No. 591), between Alichur and Murgab , 26 km SW of Murgab, N37°57'33" E73°50'47", stony desert, under stones, 4100–4200 m, 20.VII.2023, coll . YD; 6 males, 6 females ( ISEA chilop-54), between Alichur and Murgab , 26 km SW of Murgab, N37°57'33" E73°50'47", under stones near river, 4100 m, 20.VII.2023, coll . YD; 1 male, 1 female ( ISEA chilop-53), between Alichur and Murgab , 26 km SW of Murgab, N37°57'45" E73°52'45", under stones near river, 3690 m, 16.VII.2023, coll . YD; 32 males ( ISEA chilop-55) and 51 females ( ISEA chilop-56), 30 km W Murgab, Murgab River Valley , N38°09'11" E73°37'6", tugai (gallery) forest, 3520 m, 18–19.VII.2023, coll . YD; 8 males, 7 females, 1 juv. ( ZISP chilo-197), Chechekty River Valley [ca. N38°20'29" E74°00'27"], under stones near river, 4.VII.1948, coll . EK; 24 males ( ASU No. 600) and 34 females ( ASU No. 599), South Alichur Range , N37°07'19" E72°43'27", meadow along stream in mountain steppe, under stones, 3400 m, 14–15.VII.2023, coll . YD; 12 males, 19 females, 1 juv. ( ZISP chilo-202), Alichur [N37°44'58" E73°16'16"], 1897, coll . AK; 2 females ( ZISP chilo-193), 15 versts NE of Karakul Lake [N39°5' E73°29'], 6.VIII.[1]928, coll . R; 2 juv. ( ZISP chilo-70), Vakhan, Lyanger-Tisht [ca. N37°03' E72°40'], 29.VI.1913, coll. unknown ; 2 males, 3 females ( ZISP chilo-196) , [ Kyrgyzstan, Osh Region], N slope of foothills of Trans-Alai Mt. Range , under stones, 25.VI.1948, coll . EK.

Distribution. Tajikistan: Khatlon Region, Districts of Republican Subordination, and Gorno-Badakhshan Region ( Zalesskaja 1978; Dyachkov et al. 2022) and Kyrgyzstan (present record).

Remarks. According to the original description, additional denticle of female gonopodal claw is very short, but this denticle is well-developed in large specimens ( Fig. 5 ).

This species is new to the fauna of Kyrgyzstan.

H. pervagatus has never been recorded from altitudes exceeding 4500 m ( Zalesskaja 1978). The present record from 4700–4900 m is the highest record of Chilopoda in Middle Asia ( Table 1).

Figures

Figure 1. The distributional records of Ghilaroviella valiachmedovi Zalesskaja, 1975 (square), Hessebius pervagatus Zalesskaja, 1978 (star), Lithobius javanicus (Zalesskaja, 1978) (triangle), Thereuonema turkestana Verhoeff, 1905, and Cryptops doriae Pocock, 1891 (both diamond) in the Pamir Mts. Violet color indicates literature data, green one concerns new data. Question marks indicate uncertain localities (Dyachkov et al. 2022: 167).

Figures 2–5. Habitats of Hessebius pervagatus Zalesskaja, 1978: 2, 3 – habitat at 3400 m (meadow along stream in mountain steppe, South Alichur Range), 4 – habitat at 4700–4900 (scree, surroundings of Koitezek Mountain Pass); 5 – female gonopod of H. pervagatus (ASU No. 588), laterally. Scale: 0.1 mm.