Hyleoglomeris subreducta Golovatch, 2013

Golovatch, Sergei, 2013, Three new species of the millipede genus Hyleoglomeris Verhoeff, 1910 from the Aegean region of Greece (Diplopoda, Glomerida, Glomeridae), Biodiversity Data Journal 1, pp. 1000-1000 : 1000

Classification: Glomeridae Rank: SpeciesType of treatment: New taxonextantHabitat: terrestrialRoot classification: 8

Hyleoglomeris subreducta Golovatch, 2013 sp. n.

Materials

Type status: Holotype. Occurrence: recordedBy: P. Beron; sex: 1 male; Location: island: Chios; country: Greece; verbatimLocality: village Haghios Galos (Agiongalas, Haghia Gala), 65 km from town of Chios, Cave Hagiogalousaina; Event: eventDate: 1987-05-12; Record Level: institutionCode: NMNHS Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: recordedBy: P. Beron; sex: 1 male, 3 female, 3 juveniles; Location: island: Chios; country: Greece; verbatimLocality: village Haghios Galos (Agiongalas, Haghia Gala), 65 km from town of Chios, Cave Hagiogalousaina; Event: eventDate: 1987-05-12; Record Level: institutionCode: NMNHS Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: recordedBy: P. Beron; sex: 1 male, 1 female; Location: island: Chios; country: Greece; verbatimLocality: village Haghios Galos (Agiongalas, Haghia Gala), 65 km from town of Chios, Cave Hagiogalousaina; Event: eventDate: 1987-05-12; Record Level: institutionCode: ZMUM

Description

Length of holotype ca 5.5 mm, width (maximum on tergum 2) ca 2.5 mm; length of paratypes ca 5.0-6.0 mm, width on tergum 2 ca 2.1-3.0 mm, or males and females, respectively. Body from nearly entirely pallid (especially so in smaller specimens) to coloration remnants persisting on head and terga (Fig. 1a, b, c). Head usually with a considerably infuscate, large, brownish to blackish patch around Tömösváry’s organ and ocelli each side (Fig. 1b, c), antennae pallid to very faintly brownish yellow. Trunk from entirely pallid to very faintly brown or grey-brown, in the latter case with a peculiar pattern (Fig. 1a, b, c). Collum very slightly marbled brownish on sides and with a rather wide, light brownish, subcaudal band in front of a narrowly flavous caudal margin (Fig. 1a, b). Tergum 2 (= thoracic shield) with a similar pattern, but subcaudal band wider, slightly broadened and remaining only above schism laterally while central part subtriangular and extending nearly up to front margin (Fig. 1a, b, c). Following terga with a similar pattern as well, each with a paramedian pair of large, transversely oval, flavous, sublateral, anterior spots above broadly flavous lateral margin. Last tergum (= pygidium) nearly entirely and uniformly light brown or grey-brown, with a broad flavous band at caudal margin (Fig. 1a, b, c). Ocelli 5+1 or 6+1, convex, completely translucid, but mostly clearly discernible due to an infuscated nearby background (Fig. 1b, c). Tömösváry’s organ pallid, transverse-oval, ca 1.4 times wider than long. Antennomere 6 rather long, ca 2.0-2.1 times as long as high. Collum with two transverse striae. Tergum 2 with a narrow hyposchism extending behind to reach the caudal tergal margin; 7-8 superficial transverse striae, only one starting below schism, one level with, all others above schism while three (never last one from below) crossing the dorsum. Male anal shield regularly rounded at caudal margin. Male leg 17 (Fig. 2a) with a rather high, regularly rounded, outer coxal lobe; telopodite 4-segmented, tarsus with three strong apical spines. Male leg 18 (Fig. 2b) with a regularly rounded syncoxital notch; telopodite 4-segmented, tarsus with one apical spine. Male legs 19, or telopods (Fig. 2c), with a high, regularly rounded, central syncoxital lobe flanked by two setose horns, each latter only slightly higher than central lobe and crowned by a minute, elongate, acuminate, membranous lobule devoid of adjacent structures. Prefemur and, to a lesser extent and only parabasally, femur micropapillate laterally. Caudomedial femoral process prominent, directed distomedially at ca 100 º to femur, mostly strongly chitinized, only apically with a small membranous sac, but devoid of any chitinized lobe. Caudomedial process of tibia evident, sac-shaped, membranous, with an evident, rounded tubercle on caudal face at base. Tarsus rather strongly curved, subacuminate apically.

Diagnosis

Differs from congeners in a partly to completely unpigmented body, coupled with sometimes still persisting remnants of a peculiar colour pattern, a rather long antennomere 6 which is ca 2.0-2.1 times as long as high, as well as by a narrow hyposchism which only reaches the caudal margin of tergum 2, and 7-8 transverse striae of which three cross the dorsum on tergum 2. Differs clearly from all known Greek congeners, including two new ones described below, also by a 4-segmented male telopodite 17 (Fig. 2a).

Etymology

To emphasize the nearly fully to fully reduced body coloration similar to the condition observed in the southern Chinese cavernicole, Hyleoglomeris reducta Golovatch, Geoffroy & Mauriès, 2006. An adjective.

Taxon discussion

Due to such a troglomorphic feature as the completely or nearly completely unpigmented body, this species may well prove to be a troglobite. This cave on Chios is known to harbour at least one more endemic troglobite, the false-scorpion Chthonius chius Schawaller, 1990 ( Pseudoscorpiones , Chthoniidae ) ( Harvey 2008).