Leucogeorgia abchasica ( Lohmander, 1936 ) Antić & Reip, 2020

Antić, Dragan Ž. & Reip, Hans S., 2020, The millipede genus Leucogeorgia Verhoeff, 1930 in the Caucasus, with descriptions of eleven new species, erection of a new monotypic genus and notes on the tribe Leucogeorgiini (Diplopoda: Julida: Julidae), European Journal of Taxonomy 713, pp. 1-106 : 8-14

Leucogeorgia abchasica ( Lohmander, 1936) comb. nov.

Figs 1A , 3–6 , 56–57

Archileucogeorgia abchasica Lohmander, 1936: 91 .

Diagnosis

This species belongs to the group of Leucogeorgia spp. without modified mouthparts, also characterized by the presence of teeth on the mesomeral claw (vs absent in L. golovatchi sp. nov., L. lobata sp. nov. and L. prometheus sp. nov.). Leucogeorgia abchasica differs from L. satunini by the height of the mesomeral lamella, which slopes down caudad, also lacking a posterior rise (vs lamella of the same height all along and with a posterior rise in L. satunini ), by the presence of short midbody setae, ca 5% of vertical diameter of rings (vs longer midbody setae, ca 10% of vertical diameter of rings in L. satunini ), and by the presence of a subtriangular ventral margin on male body ring 7, with strong teeth in ventral view (vs a rounded ventral margin on male body ring 7, devoid of strong ventral teeth in L. satunini ). Leucogeorgia abchasica differs from L. borealis sp. nov. by the presence of an elongate and erect mesomeral claw (vs robust in L. borealis sp. nov.). Leucogeorgia abchasica differs from L. gioi sp. nov. by the presence of a more robust and more or less strongly denticulate mesomeral claw (vs a more slender mesomeral claw with just a few teeth in L. gioi sp. nov.), by the presence of a slightly serrate mesomeral lamella (vs a strongly serrate mesomeral lamella in L. gioi sp. nov.) and by the presence of a subtriangular ventral margin on male body ring 7 (vs a strongly developed triangular ventral margin in L. gioi sp. nov.). Leucogeorgia abchasica differs from L. oculata sp. nov. by the height of the mesomeral lamella gradually decreasing caudad and lacking a posterior rise (vs a lamella of the same height all along and with a posterior rise in L. oculata sp. nov.), by the presence of an elongate and erect mesomeral claw (vs robust in L. oculata sp. nov.), and by the absence of both pigmentation and ommatidia and the presence of metazonal setae (vs a pigmented body, the presence of ommatidia and the absence of metazonal setae in L. oculata sp. nov.).

Material examined

ABKHAZIA – Gudauty District • 2 ♂♂, 4 ♀♀; Bzyb Mt Ridge , Hipstinsky karst Massif, Hipsta Mountain , Snezhnaya Cave , small crevice near entrance; 43.26° N, 40.72° E; Aug. 1980; V. Dolzhansky leg.; ZMUM. – Gulripsh District • 4 ♀♀; Tsebeldinsky karst Massif, near Amtkel village, Holodnaya Rechka Canyon , Pakhuchaya Cave , depth - 65 m; 43.06° N, 41.31° E; 18 Sep. 2014; I.S. Turbanov leg.; ZMUM • 3 ♂♂, 5 ♀♀, 18 juvs; Tsebeldinsky karst Massif, near Amtkel village, Holodnaya Rechka Canyon , Bolshaya Medveditza Cave , depth - 15 m; 43.06° N, 41.31° E; 17 Sep. 2014; I.S. Turbanov leg.; ZMUM • 3 ♂♂, 2 juvs; Tsebeldinsky karst Massif, near Tsebelda village, Tsebeldinskaya (= Tsebelda ) Cave ; 43.03° N, 41.28° E; 29 Aug. 1959; S.I. Ljovuschkin leg.; ZMUM • 3 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀, 2 juvs; same collection data as for preceding but N.T. Zalesskaja leg.; ZMUM. – Ochamchira District • 5 ♂♂, 8 ♀♀, 3 juvs; Panavsky karst Massif, near Otap village, Dzykhayskaya I Cave , 15 m from the entrance; 42.93° N, 41.52° E; 7 Sep. 2014; I.S. Turbanov leg.; ZMUM • 2 ♂♂, 4 ♀♀, 3 juvs; Panavsky karst Massif, near Otap village, Dzykhayskaya II Cave , 10 m from the entrance; 42.94° N, 41.53° E; 7 Sep. 2014; I.S. Turbanov leg.; ZMUM • 1 ♀; Panavsky karst Massif, near Otap village, Abraskila (= AchzheTyz-Gua, Golova Otapa) Cave ; 42.92° N, 41.53° E; 1939; J. Birstein leg.; ZMUM • 9 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀, 4 juvs; same collection data as for preceding but 8 Aug. 1939; ZMUM • 1 ♂, 1 ♀; same collection data as for preceding but 29 Aug. 1964; S.I. Ljovuschkin leg.; ZMUM • 8 ♂♂, 5 ♀♀, 6 juvs; same collection data as for preceding but 21 Aug. 1962; ZMUM • 11 ♂♂, 5 ♀♀, 8 juvs; same collection data as for preceding but 8 Sep. 2014; I.S. Turbanov leg.; ZMUM • 4 ♂♂, 4 ♀♀; same collection data as for preceding but 9 Sep. 2014; IZB • 7 ♂♂, 10 ♀♀, 7 juvs; same collection data as for preceding but 20 Aug. 2015; SMNG • 6 ♂♂, 8 ♀♀, 8 juvs; same collection data as for preceding but Feb. 1989; S. Smirnov leg.; ZMUM • 5 ♂♂, 9 ♀♀, 3 juvs; Panavsky karst Massif, near Otap village, Uatapachy (= Kolodets nad Golovoy Otapa) Cave ; 42.93° N, 41.54° E; 24 Aug. 2015; I.S. Turbanov leg.; ZMUM • 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀; Panavsky karst Massif, near Otap village, Samshitovaya Cave ; 42.93° N, 41.54° E; 21 Aug. 2015; I.S. Turbanov leg.; ZMUM .

Redescription

SIZE AND NUMBER OF BODY RINGS. Males 21–37 mm long, vertical diameter of largest body ring 1.5–2 mm, body with 42–51 podous rings + 1–3 apodous rings + telson. Females 22–35 mm long, vertical diameter of largest body ring 1.6–2.1 mm, body with 41–51 podous rings + 0–2 apodous rings + telson.

COLOUR ( Figs 1A , 3 ). Live colouration pigmentless, pallid. In alcohol from pale yellow to dark brown.

HEAD ( Fig. 3B ). Without ommatidia. Frontal setae absent. Labrum with three (four in one specimen) labral teeth, four supralabral and 14–17 labral setae. Gnathochilarium with rhomboid promentum. Lamellae linguales with 3+3–5+5 setae, stipites with 3+3 long distolateral setae and 2+3–5+5 short medial setae. Antennae 3 mm long (in males with 2 mm vertical diameter of the body rings), their length 150% of vertical diameter of the largest body ring. Lengths of antennomeres I–VIII (in mm): 0.2 (I), 0.7 (II), 0.61 (III), 0.53 (IV), 0.57 (V), 0.27 (VI), 0.09 (VII) and 0.03 (VIII). Length/width ratio of antennomeres I–VII: 0.8 (I), 3.8 (II), 3 (III), 2.8 (IV), 2.2 (V), 1.1 (VI) and 0.5 (VII). Antennomeres V and VI each with a terminal corolla of large sensilla basiconica bacilliformia; antennomere VII with a terminal corolla of small sensilla basiconica bacilliformia.

BODY RINGS ( Fig. 3F ). Entire metazonal area with longitudinal striations. Metazonal setae short, length of midbody setae ca 5% of vertical diameter of rings.

TELSON ( Fig. 3E ). Epiproct variable, with an almost absent to short and blunt preanal process. Paraprocts rounded, setose. Hypoproct without any modifications.

LEGS IN MALES. First pair of legs modified, hook-shaped ( Fig. 4 C–E), with three complete podomeres; coxa with one seta; prefemur with 4–9 setae; femur, postfemur and tibiotarsus coalesced; femur with 2–3 setae; postfemur with two setae; tibiotarsus with a small distal lobe (tarsal remnant), sometimes also with one short seta. Podomeres slightly tuberculate. Postfemoral and tibial ventral pads well developed on anterior legs, then gradually disappearing towards posterior legs.

VENTRAL MARGIN OF MALE BODY RING 7 ( Fig. 3 C–D). Well-developed, more or less subtriangular in lateral view, with strong teeth in ventral view.

PENES ( Fig. 4G ). In form of a short trapezoid, apically with two small subtriangular lobes.

GONOPODS ( Figs 4F , 5–6 ). Promere (p) long and slender, with a flagellum; apical part spatulate, with denticulate margins; basal half with two poorly developed ridges. Mesomere (m) with a well-developed and denticulate mesomeral claw (mc); mesomeral lamella (ml) mainly flattened, sometimes poorly elevated in central part, slightly serrate, posterior part finely fimbriate. Opisthomere (o) bipartite. Anterior branch of o with a solenomere (s) with a medium-sized tip, and a well-developed and fimbriate

velum (v). Posterior branch of o in form of a shield-like protective lamella (pl), straight or sometimes curved anteriad. Mesomere and opisthomere connected basally with an accessory membrane (am).

Type locality

Kelasurskaya Cave (43.02° N, 41.14° E), Sukhum District, Abkhazia.

Distribution

Known only from caves in the Gudauty, Gulripsh, Sukhum and Ochamchira districts of Abkhazia ( Fig. 57 , green triangle).

Remarks

Several specimens have been found in a small crevice near the entrance to the Snezhnaya Cave where Leucogeorgia rediviva lives in the deeper parts. In Kelasurskaya Cave, L. abchasica occurs together with L. satunini and an unidentified species of Leucogeorgia with modified mouthparts.

See video about this species from the Abraskila (= Achzhe-Tyz-Gua, Golova Otapa) Cave: www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRDQ1iByPWA&t=35s

Figures

Fig. 1. Leucogeorgia Verhoeff, 1930 species in situ. A. L. abchasica (Lohmander, 1936) comb. nov., ♂ from Abraskila Cave (photo: Ilya Turbanov). B. L. caudata sp. nov., type ♂ from Novoafonskaya Cave (photo: Olga Chervyatsova). C. L. gioi sp. nov., paratype ♀ (SMNG) (photo: Hans Reip). D. L. lobata sp. nov., specimens from Motena Cave (photo: Hans Reip). E. L. prometheus sp. nov., specimen from Prometheus Cave (photo: Hans Reip). F. L. profunda sp. nov., non-type ♀ from Veryovkina Cave (photo: Sergei Ivanov). G. L. turbanovi sp. nov., non-type ♂ from Krubera Cave (photo: Ilya Turbanov).

Fig. 3. Leucogeorgia abchasica (Lohmander, 1936) comb. nov., ♂♂ from Abraskila Cave (ZMUM). A. Habitus, lateral view. B. Anterior part of body, lateral view. C. Body ring 7, lateral view. D. Body ring 7, ventral view. E. Posterior part of body, lateral view. F. Midbody rings, lateral view. Arrows indicate metazonal setae. Scale bars: 1 mm.

Fig. 4. Leucogeorgia abchasica (Lohmander, 1936) comb. nov. (A–F: ♂ from Bolshaya Medveditza Cave (ZMUM); G: ♂ from Uatapachy Cave (ZMUM)). A. Head, anterior view. B. Head, ventral view. C. Leg-pair 1, anterior view. D. Left leg 1, lateral view. E. Left leg 1, distolateral view. F. Right gonopods, mesal view. G. Penes, anterior view. Abbreviations: am = accessory membrane; m = mesomere; mc = mesomeral claw; ml = mesomeral lamella; o = opisthomere; p = promere; pl = protective lamella; s = solenomere; v = velum. Scale bars: A–B = 0.2 mm; C, F–G = 0.1 mm; D–E = 0.05 mm.

Fig. 5. Leucogeorgia abchasica (Lohmander, 1936) comb. nov., left gonopods, mesal views (ZMUM). A. ♂ from Tsebeldinskaya Cave. B. ♂ from Abraskila Cave. C. ♂ from Bolshaya Medveditza Cave. D. ♂ from Snezhnaya Cave. Scale bar: 0.3 mm.

Fig. 6. Leucogeorgia abchasica (Lohmander, 1936) comb. nov., right gonopods, mesal views (ZMUM). A. ♂ from Dzykhayskaya I Cave. B. ♂ from Abraskila Cave. C. ♂ from Uatapachy Cave. D. ♂ from Samshitovaya Cave. Scale bar: 0.3 mm.

Fig. 56. General distribution of the Caucasian leucogeorgiinines. The white dashed line hypothetically indicates the boundary between the northwestern and southeastern groups of species of the genus Leucogeorgia Verhoeff, 1930.

Fig. 57. Distribution of the northwestern group of the genus Leucogeorgia Verhoeff, 1930.