Polydrepanum horridum Golovatch, 1984

Golovatch, Sergei I., Aswathy, Mathilakath Dasan, Bhagirathan, Usha & Sudhikumar, Ambalaparambil Vasu, 2021, Review of the millipede tribe Polydrepanini, with the description of a new species from Kerala state, southern India (Diplopoda, Polydesmida, Paradoxosomatidae, Alogolykinae), Zootaxa 5068 (4), pp. 485-516 : 490

Polydrepanum horridum Golovatch, 1984

Figs 9–12

Polydrepanum horridum Golovatch, 1984: 333 , figs 12–17 (D). India, Maharashtra.

“ Polydrepanum” (sic!) horridum — Bano, 1997: 12 (M); 1998: 89 (M); Bano & Murthy, 1997: 161 (D); Nguyen & Sierwald, 2013: 1182 (M); Golovatch & Wesener, 2016: 48 (M).

Polydrepanum horridum — Sankaran & Sebastian, 2018: 170, fig. 6B (D).

Remarks. Among the most important characters of this species are the presence of dense metatergal setation, and of adenostyles only on male femora 2, coupled with the gonofemorite being quite slender and long, but with clear evidence of torsion, while the solenophore is also peculiar in shape and rather similar to that of P. asperrimum : a large, rounded, mesal lobe (lo), but only a single apicolateral spine (a) distal to the basal loop of a free solenomere (sl). Base of lo on mesal side forming a protecting shield for the basal sl loop. Distal half of solenophore clearly curved and directed laterad ( Figs 9–12 ).

Despite some critical comments following the original description of P. horridum (Bano, 1997, 1998; Bano & Murthy, 1997; Nguyen & Sierwald, 2013; Golovatch & Wesener, 2016) that suggested the erection of a new genus to accommodate this species alone, we still feel that the distinctions are not strong enough to do so, because both P. horridum and P. tamilum (cf. Figs 9–12 and 17–19 ) share such decisive characters as a twisted gonofemorite and the basal loop of a flagelliform solenomere (sl) protected by a large lobe (lo) of a distally strongly curved solenophore (sph). In other words, we consider P. horridum as being congeneric with P. tamilum .

Figures

FIGURES 9–12. Polydrepanum horridum Golovatch, 1984. Right gonopod, lateral, dorsal, mesal and ventral views, respectively.After Golovatch (1984). Abbreviations: a, apicolateral spine; k, basal loop of solenomere; lo, mesal lobe; sl, solenomere; sph, solenophore. Scale bar: 0.4 mm.

FIGURES 16–20. Polydrepanum tamilum Carl, 1932. 16. Male leg 2, lateral view. 17. Entire left gonopod, mesal view. 18. Distal half of left gonopod, lateral view. 19. Entire right gonopod, mesal view. 20. Distal half of right gonopod, sublateral view. 16–18: after Carl (1932); 19, 20: after Jeekel (1980b). Abbreviations: a and b, dorsal distofemoral processes; ad, adenostyle; lo, lateral protecting lobe/shield; k, basal loop of solenomere; sl, solenomere; sph, solenophore. Drawn not to scale.