Sinocallipus steineri, Stoev, Pavel & Enghoff, Henrik, 2011

Stoev, Pavel & Enghoff, Henrik, 2011, A review of the millipede genus Sinocallipus Zhang, 1993 (Diplopoda, Callipodida, Sinocallipodidae), with notes on gonopods monotony vs. peripheral diversity in millipedes, ZooKeys 90, pp. 13-34 : 22-24

Sinocallipus steineri sp. n. Figs 20-232930

Sinocallipus : Steiner 2005, p. 96.

Material examined.

Holotype: ♂; 71 PT + telson, Laos, Luang Phrabang Province, Ponsai District, Ben Nambo (Thapo) Village, Tham Gia (Bat cave) (E-48-001/07), 19° 57.233N, 102° 25.457E, alt. approx. 400 m, 27.XII.2003, H. Steiner leg. (SMF); - Paratype: adult ♂, 67 PT, same locality, date and collector (NMNHS).

Description of locality.

For detailed descriptions of the cave and its exact locality see Burgers et al. (2005). The new species has been collected from the ceiling of the cave (H. Steiner, in lit.). Cave crickets, a spider, and the centipede Thereuopoda longicornis co-occur with Sinocallipus steineri ( Steiner 2005, Jäger and Praxaysombath 2009).

Origin of name.

Named after the German biospeleologist Helmut Steiner, an active explorer of the caves of Laos, who collected the species.

Diagnosis.

Males: Differs from congeners by the following set of characters: 67-71 PT in adults; head and PT 1-4 white, remaining PT mottled light brown–grayish, antennomeres 2-6 brown; antennae moderately long, extending beyond posterior edge of PT7 when folded backwards; eyes black, well delineated, composed of 33-35 ocelli; midbody PT with 3+3 crests between ozopores; all crests flattened, almost equally broad along metazonal length, only slightly narrowed posteriorly and touching each other anteriorly. Gonopods: differ from those of congeners by the laterally narrowed gonocoxal process g and by the much longer process k being 2/3rd the height of g.

Description.

Males:

Maximal length: ca 54-55 mm, width of midbody PT 2.5 mm, 67-71 PT + telson. Body colour: generally white-yellowish; head and PT 1-4 white, remaining PT mottled light brown–grayish, the last 1/5 of the body brownish; metazonites with a narrow transverse posterior band. Head: white-yellowish, pilose; epicranium marbled light brown; cephalic suture visible. Antennae: moderately long, extending beyond the posterior edge of PT 7 when folded backwards; antennomeres 1 and 7 white, 2-6 - brown; length of antennomeres: 1 - 0.4 mm, 2 - 1.1 mm, 3 - 1.3 mm, 4 - 0.8 mm, 5 - 0.9 mm, 6 - 0.7 mm, 7 - 0.3 mm; antennomere ratio: 3>2>5>4>6>1>7; tip of antennomere 7 with four cones protruding well beyond the edge. Eyes: black, well delineated, composed of 33-35 ocelli in 5 rows (Fig. 20).

Width of PT: 2-3<1=4<5<6<7<8<9<10. PT slightly higher than broad; ratio: 1.07: 1. Dorsal side of collum and PT 2-3 smooth, ribbed only laterally; complete crests series appearing from PT 4 onwards. Midbody PT with 3+3 crests between ozopores; no secondary crest series, all crests flattened, almost equally broad along the metazonal length, only slightly narrowed posteriorly and touching each other anteriorly. Ozopores on midbody PT lying between crests 3 and 4, visible from sixth to last but two PT. Paraprocts divided into smaller dorsal and bigger ventral sclerites. Each dorsal sclerite with a pair of macrosetae in a vertical line. Spinnerets: long and slender, ending with a long seta each. All setae on telson dark brown, contrasting with the whitish background.

All legs white-yellowish, moderately long and slender, ending with a long claw. Tarsal pads poorly developed, present only on leg-pairs 3-12. No particular modifications on coxae of pregonopodal legs. Prefemora of legs 4-7 swollen. Leg-pair 9 (Figs 21, 29): coxa subtrapezoidal; trochanter with two processes: anterior one (h) higher, leaf-shaped, its tip very sharpened, spine-like, curved cephalad; posterior process (z) rounded with a small triangular bulge; a small pore opening (p) below the bulge.

Chaetotaxy: pleurotergal setae barely visible, minute, one each on PT 1 and 2, others presumably broken off.

Gonopods (Figs 22, 23): similar to those of congeners, but process k is longer. Coxae (cx): process g laterally narrowed, not clavate as in the other congeners; apical part slighly truncated (in lateral view); k 2/3 the height of process g, slightly bent lateralwards at midlength; apex with a small hook pointing towards process g. Femoroid (fe): with three slender, acicular (n), and one shorter and subfalcate (m) terminal projections, latter almost half length of the longest projection. Cannula (ca): long and slender, not coiled, its distal part lying between processes h and z on trochanter of leg 9 in close proximity to the pore opening (p).

Female:

unknown.