Ophrydesmus anichkini Golovatch, 2015

Golovatch, Sergei I., 2018, Further notes on the millipede family Cryptodesmidae in Southeast Asia, with descriptions of a new genus and two new species from Indochina (Diplopoda: Polydesmida), Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 66, pp. 361-370 : 367

Ophrydesmus anichkini Golovatch, 2015

( Fig. 6 )

Ophrydesmus anichkini Golovatch, 2015: 159 (D). Ophrydesmus anichkini — Golovatch & VandenSpiegel, 2017:

757 (M).

Material examined. 1 male, 2 females ( ZMUM), Vietnam, Gia Lai Province, Kon Ka Kinh National Park , 14°18′08″N, 108°26′41″E, 600–700 m a.s.l., mixed tropical forest, stream valley, steep slope up to 45°, on tree trunk, May 2017, leg. I.I. Semenyuk.

Remarks. This species has been described, and hitherto remained known, only from a single male (holotype) from the Cat Tien National Park (N11°26′, E107°21′), Dongnai Province, southern Vietnam ( Golovatch, 2015). The above samples come from another province in southern Vietnam and differ from the holotype not so much in size (male ca 10 mm long, 1.0 and 2.7 mm wide on midbody pro- and metazonae, respectively; females ca 11 mm long, 1.2–1.4 and 2.9–3.0 mm wide on midbody pro- and metazonae, respectively, vs. ca 11 mm long, 1.0 and 4.0 mm wide on midbody pro- and metazonae, respectively, in the holotype) as in colouration. Thus, the holotype shows a peculiar colour pattern: contrasting whitish paraterga on the collum and segment 2 against a dark grey-brown background. Contrariwise, the new samples are uniformly light pinkish both in vivo and in alcohol ( Fig. 6A, B ) and are completely devoid of a pattern. However, the gonopodal structure is exactly the same ( Fig. 6C ), thus leaving no doubt about their identity. As a result, this species appears to show remarkable colour variations/morphs, likely at the population level.

Figures

Fig. 6. Ophrydesmus anichkini Golovatch, 2015, male from Kon Ka Kinh National Park, Vietnam. A, Live male, dorsal view; B, alcohol-fixed male, lateral view; C, enlarged gonopods, lateral view. Pictures taken not to scale.