Jeekelomorpha bispinosa, Gordana & Ambros, 2018

Golovatch, S. I. & Semenyuk, I. I., 2018, On several new or poorly-known Oriental Paradoxosomatidae (Diplopoda: Polydesmida), Arthropoda Selecta 27 (1), pp. 1-21 : 8-11

Jeekelomorpha bispinosa sp.n.

Figs 32–44 .

HOLOTYPE ♂, Vietnam, Gia Lai Prov., Kon Ka Kinh National Park , N 14°18′08″, E 108°26′41″, 600–700 m a.s.l., mixed tropical forest, steep slope (up to 45°), stream valley, leaf litter, V.2017, leg. I.I. Semenyuk.

DIAGNOSIS. With the characters of the genus.

NAME. To emphasize the presence of two long spines (a and b) at the base of the solenophore; adjective.

DESCRIPTION. Holotype ca 15 mm long, width of midbody pro- and metazonae 1.1 and 1.4 mm, respectively (♂). General coloration in alcohol rather uniformly brown to chocolate brown with a characteristic bead-shaped pattern of contrasting light ochre dorsal markings (larger and rounded spots in rear halves turning into smaller and wide stripes in anterior halves of collum and following metaterga, spots extending onto proterga as well) and strictures; paraterga, entire venter, tip of epiproct and basal podomeres light beige; distal podomeres increasingly light grey-brown; antennae increasingly brown, but their tips pallid ( Figs 32–35 ).

Clypeolabral region densely setose, only a few long setae between and above antennae; occipital region bare; epicranial suture thin, but evident ( Fig. 33 ). Antennae long and slightly clavate ( Figs 32, 33 ), in situ extending back behind segment 2 (♂) when stretched dorsally; in length, antennomeres 2–6 >> 1 = 7; interantennal isthmus about as broad as diameter of antennal socket ( Fig. 33 ).

In width, head <segment 2 <collum = 3 <4 <5–15; thereafter body gradually tapering towards telson ( Figs 32– 35 ). Tegument smooth and shining; prozonae very finely shagreened; rear 1/3 of metaterga and surface below paraterga often finely to very finely striolate longitudinally. Collum broadly and regularly rounded laterally. Postcollum paraterga well-developed, mostly set low at about half of body height, subhorizontal; anterior corner of paraterga 2 narrowly rounded, subrectangular, caudal one drawn behind into a short and small tooth, thereafter likewise produced into a small sharp tooth, but never drawn behind rear tergal margin ( Figs 34, 35 ). Calluses delimited by two sulci, a complete and distinct one dorsally and, in posterior 2/3, a less distinct one ventrally; calluses neither incised nor sinuate, thin in dorsal view, thick in lateral view, especially so on pore-bearing paraterga. Ozopores small, lying inside a pit invisible from above, located at about 1/3 off caudal corner ( Fig. 32 ). Transverse metatergal sulci present on segments 5–18, thin, shallow, slightly sinuate mid-dorsally, often very finely beaded at bottom, almost reaching the bases of paraterga. Stricture between pro- and metazonae thin and deep, clearly beaded at bottom down to below paraterga ( Figs 32, 34, 35 ). Tergal setae largely abraded, long (about half of metatergal length, Fig. 35 ), likely arranged in a single transverse row of 2+ 2 in about anterior 1/3 of metaterga. Axial line missing. Pleurosternal carinae roughly granulate, small flaps on segment 2, square ridges with small caudal teeth on segment 3, thereafter with increasingly distinct caudal teeth until segment 7 (♂), then suddenly fully reduced ( Fig. 32 ). Epiproct long, subconiform, flattened dorsoventrally, subapical lateral papillae small, tip poorly concave ( Figs 32, 35 ). Hypoproct roundly subtrapeziform, 1+1 setae strongly separated from each other, borne on minute knobs at caudal margin.

Sterna sparsely setose, cross-impressions moderately and equally deep, unmodified except for a high, subquadrate and setose lobe between coxae 4 (♂). Legs long and slender, densely setose, apparently somewhat incrassate as compared to ♀, ca 1.5–1.6 times as long as midbody height (♂), devoid of adenostyles, ♂ prefemora not bulged laterally; prefemoral, distotibial and tarsal brushes present ventrally on all ♂ legs; in length, femora >> prefemora = tarsi> tibiae> postfemora = coxae.

Gonopods ( Figs 36–44 ) complex, somewhat fan-shaped; coxite about as long as femorite, subcylindrical, with a particularly long seta distolaterally; prefemoral (= densely setose) part of telopodite short, about 1/4 as long as acropodite; femorite (fe) short, stout, untwisted, only slightly enlarged apically, distinctly excavate on mesal face and with two large, long, oblique, ventromesal ridges (r and k) all along, both set off by a lateral sulcus from a very short postfemoral region (pf); the latter set off apically by another lateral sulcus from a prominent and suberect solenophore (sph) consisting of a lateral blade (bl) with an apical denticle, two strong spines (a and b) fused parabasally on ventral side, and two large, subequally high, independent, membranous lamellae, one ventral (v) and rounded, the other dorsal (d) and subapically bidentate; seminal groove (sg) running entirely on mesal side of fe before entering onto a long, flagelliform, similarly suberect solenomere (sl) starting about level with a, b and bl bases, located between lamellae v and d, but terminating on lateral side only near a bifid end of d.

REMARKS. The mostly Asian tribe Sulciferini Attems, 1898 is among the largest in the family Paradoxosomatidae , containing more than two dozen genera [ Jeekel, 1988; Nguyen, Sierwald, 2013]. Their gonopodal conformation is typically complex, distinguished by an always untwisted, unarmed and often mesally excavate femorite that usually shows a delimited postfemoral region, a number (1–4) of outgrowths and/or processes at the base of a curved or coiled and always membranous solenophore, the latter normally consisting of two intricately folded laminae (a lamina lateralis and a lamina medialis) to support and largely or fully sheath a weak, flagelliform, mainly long solenomere. Despite the striking apomorphies observed in Jeekelomorpha gen.n., especially the somewhat fan-shaped, upright and bilamellate solenophore, its diagnosis seems best to fit in the scope of Sulciferini .

Figures

Figs 32–35. Jeekelomorpha bispinosa sp.n., ♂ holotype. 32 — habitus, lateral view; 33 — anterior part of body, oral view; 34 — midbody segments, dorsal view; 35 — caudal part of body, dorsal view. Pictures by K. Makarov, not taken to scale. Рис. 32–35. Jeekelomorpha bispinosa sp.n., голотип ♂. 32 — обЩий вид, сбоку; 33 — переднЯЯ часть тела, спереди; 34 — среднетуловиЩные сегменты, сверху; 35 — ЗаднЯЯ часть тела, сверху. Фотографии К. Макарова, снЯты беЗ масШтаба.

Figs 36–38. Jeekelomorpha bispinosa sp.n., ♂ holotype, left gonopod, mesal, ventral and lateral views, respectively. Scale bar: 0.5 mm. Designations explained in text. Del. S. Golovatch. Рис. 36–38. Jeekelomorpha bispinosa sp.n., голотип ♂, правый гонопод, соответственно иЗнутри, сниЗу и сбоку. МасШтаб: 0,5 мм. ОбоЗначениЯ обЪЯснены в тексте. Рисунки С. Головача.

Figs 39–41. Jeekelomorpha bispinosa sp.n., ♂ holotype, left gonopod, mesal, lateral and ventral views, respectively. Pictures by K. Makarov, not taken to scale. Рис. 39–41. Jeekelomorpha bispinosa sp.n., голотип ♂, левый гонопод, соответственно иЗнутри, сбоку и сниЗу. Фотографии К. Макарова, снЯты беЗ масШтаба.

Figs 42–44. Jeekelomorpha bispinosa sp.n., ♂ holotype, left gonopod, lateral, mesal and subventral views, respectively. Drawn not to scale by I. Semenyuk. Рис. 42–44. Jeekelomorpha bispinosa sp.n., голотип ♂, левый гонопод, соответственно сбоку, иЗнутри и почти сниЗу. Нарисо- вала беЗ масШтаба И. Семенюк.