Aquattuor fasciatus ( Attems, 1896 )

Enghoff, Henrik, 2020, A mountain of millipedes VIII. The genus Aquattuor Frederiksen, 2013 revisited - a new species from the Udzungwa Mts, Tanzania, another from the Nguru Mts, and introduction of the first pair of male legs as a source of taxonomic characters (Diplopoda, Spirostreptida, Odontopygidae), European Journal of Taxonomy 626, pp. 1-32 : 12-14

Aquattuor fasciatus ( Attems, 1896)

Figs 1 , 3 A–C

Odontopyge fasciata Attems, 1896: 40 .

Prionopetalum fasciatum – Attems 1914: 210. — Brolemann 1920: 123. — Kraus 1960: 86. — VandenSpiegel & Pierrard 2009: 152. — Enghoff et al. 2016: 69 .

Aquattuor aff. claudiahempae – Enghoff & Frederiksen 2015: 19 .

Aquattuor fasciatus – Enghoff 2016b: 14 .

Diagnosis

Diameter 1.55–1.91 mm, 51–53 (55?) podous rings. Shares a short (as broad as long, or slightly longer) gonopodal palette with A. claudiahempae , A. fasciatus , A. stereosathe , A. submajor and A. udzungwensis . Differs from these species, except A. claudiahempae , by the combination of fully developed telopodites on the first pair of male legs, the gonopodal telomere describing a ca 270° curve, curving almost in one plane only, by lacking a spinose lid-like flap on the basal telomeral lamella, and by having a distinct meso-basal lobe of the gonopod palette. Very similar to, and perhaps not distinct from A. claudiahempae , differs by being mostly larger (male diameter> 1.5 mm) and by having the prefemoral processes of the first pair of male legs stouter, subtriangular.

Material studied (total: 1 ♂)

TANZANIA • 1 ♂; Zanzibar, the sultan’s palace; 16 Jun. 1979; M. Stoltze leg.; NHMD 621641 .

Descriptive notes

First pair of male legs ( Fig. 3 A–C) each with a single, relatively stout, triangular prefemoral process; prefemoral processes stouter than those of the otherwise very similar A. claudiahempae ; setae of telopodite distal to prefemur similar in length to those of normal walking legs.

See remarks under A. claudiahempae .

Distribution

Recorded from Zanzibar (type locality), Pwani Region, Bagamoyo Distr., Vula Mountain, Pongwe ( VandenSpiegel & Pierrard, 2009, as Prionopetalum fasciatum ) and from Morogoro Region, Kilosa District, Rubeho Mts, 900 m a.s.l. ( Enghoff & Frederiksen 2015, as A. aff. claudiahempae ).

Figures

Fig. 1. Collecting sites for Aquattuor spp. in the Udzungwa Mts. Based on Marshall et al. (2010: fig. 1); inset by permission of the Eastern Arc Mountains Conservation Endowment Fund.

Fig. 3. Aquattuor spp., first pair of male legs. A–C. A. fasciatus (Attems, 1896), non-type male from Zanzibar (NHMD 621641). D–F. A. claudiahempae Enghoff & Frederiksen, 2015, paratype from Kilimanjaro (NHMD 621638). G–I. A. claudiahempae, specimen from Udzungwa Mts (NHMD 621639). A, D, G. Anterior view. B, E, H. Sublateral view. C, F, I. Ventral view. Abbreviation: pfp = prefemoral process. Scale bars = 0.1 mm.