Sphaerotherium intermedium Porat, 1872

Spiegel, Didier Van den, Golovatch, Sergei I. & Hamer, and Michelle L., 2002, Revision of some of the oldest species in the millipede genus Sphaerotherium Brandt, 1833 (Diplopoda, Sphaerotheriida, Sphaerotheriidae), with new synonymies, African Invertebrates 43, pp. 143-181 : 160-163

Sphaerotherium intermedium Porat, 1872

( Figs 29a–f , 38 )

Material examined:

Type material: ^ holotype, South Africa, Caput Bonae Spei, 1854, [det.] von Porat ; SMNH.

Description:

Total length 34, width 17.

Colour: Head, antennae and collum dark brown. Thoracic shield, tergites and pygidium from light brown to olive green bordered with dark brown along posterior margin. Underside and legs dark olive green.

Head with a few piliferous punctures growing denser towards clypeus; gnathochilarium densely pilose. Both sides of labrum broadly rounded laterad, with a single median tooth. Ocelli black. Antennae short, last segment with four apical sensory cones.

Collum slightly punctate-pilose.

Thoracic shield with brim relatively narrow, accompanied by row of long setae.

Tergites with median keel, surface densely punctate-piliferous. Endotergum with long marginal bristles arranged in one row, bristles reaching margin; marginal ridge with row of callosities intruding zone of bristles. No cuticular pattern, intersegmental membrane with a few cones and a few quite long setae ( Figs 29c , 38 ).

Pygidium: Surface without any peculiarities, margin elevated.

Legs with a well marked lateral lobe on coxa ( Fig. 29f ).

Female sexual characters:

Second pair of legs with coxal lobe. Cyphopod large, operculum slightly triangular with setae mainly in medial part of vulvae ( Fig. 29e ).

Male:

Unknown.

Comments: Prior to this study, S. intermedium had only been revised by Silvestri (1910), and at present the species seems only to be known from the female holotype kept in the Stockholm Museum .

Figures

Figs 29a–f. Holotype of Sphaerotherium intermedium. a: apical part of antenna; b: lateral aspect; c: endotergum; d: median keel of posterior tergites; e: cyphopod; f: 9th leg.

Figs 34–42. Endotergum (SEM) in Sphaerotherium species. 34. S. compressum (^paralectotype). 35. S. dorsale (^ holotype). 36. S. elongatum (^ paralectotype). 37. S. giganteum (^ lectotype). 38. S. intermedium (^ holotype). 39. S. lichtensteinii (^ paralectotype). 40. S. obtusum (^ holotype). 41. S. punctatum (^ lectotype). 42. S. punctulatum (Ò lectotype).