Leucogeorgia longipes Verhoeff, 1930

Antić, Dragan Ž. & Reip, Hans S., 2020, The millipede genus Leucogeorgia Verhoeff, 1930 in the Caucasus, with descriptions of eleven new species, erection of a new monotypic genus and notes on the tribe Leucogeorgiini (Diplopoda: Julida: Julidae), European Journal of Taxonomy 713, pp. 1-106 : 14-19

Leucogeorgia longipes Verhoeff, 1930

Figs 2B , 7–10 , 56 , 58

Leucogeorgia longipes Verhoeff, 1930: 34 .

Diagnosis

This species belongs to the group of Leucogeorgia spp. with modified mouthparts and it differs from all of them by several gonopodal and habitus structures, viz., the absence of teeth on the mesomeral claw (vs presence in all other Leucogeorgia with modified mouthparts), the absence of a process on the epiproct (vs presence of a very short to long process in all other Leucogeorgia with modified mouthparts), and the presence of a characteristic distal row of 3–5 long setae on the lamellae linguales (vs absence of such a row of setae in other Leucogeorgia with modified mouthparts or presence of 9–10 setae in two irregular rows in L. mystax sp. nov.).

Material examined

Lectotype (here designated)

CENTRAL-WEST GEORGIA – Kutaisi District • ♂; Imereti, Rionhesi Cave ; 42.29° N, 42.75° E; “ Kaukasus, Rion Höhle bei Kutais, Pfützen, 11.11.1929, Borutzky Dr. leg., Verhoeff don. 1940”; alcohol material; NHMW 3063 .

Paralectotype

CENTRAL-WEST GEORGIA – Kutaisi District • 1 ♂; same collection data as for lectotype; NHMW 9980 .

Other material

CENTRAL-WEST GEORGIA – Ambrolauri District • 1 ♂; Racha karst Massif, 1 km from Velevi village, Dolabistavi Cave , dark zone ; 42.45° N, 43.17° E; 13 Oct. 2014; S. Barjadze leg.; SMNG • 2 ♀♀; Verkhiye Tlugi village , Sakishore Cave , beyond siphon; 42.44° N, 43.16° E; 20 Jan. 1987; V. Bogdanov leg.; ZMUM • 1 ♀; same collection data as for preceding; IZB. – Chiatura District • 2 ♂♂; Sveri village , Kotias Cave ; 42.21° N, 43.32° E; 1 Mar. 2018; Z. Tsutskiridze, T. Arabuli and G. Nebieridze leg.; IZISU. – Kutaisi District • 1 ♂; Tskhal-Tsiteli Cave ; 42.27° N, 42.73° E; 1 Aug. 1939; J. Birstein leg.; ZMUM .

Redescription

SIZE AND NUMBER OF BODY RINGS. Males 19–20 mm long, vertical diameter of largest body ring 1.3–1.4 mm, body with 33–36 podous rings + 0–1 apodous ring + telson. Females 18–22 mm long, vertical diameter of largest body ring 1.5–1.6 mm, body with 31–37 podous rings + 0–1 apodous ring + telson.

COLOUR ( Figs 7–8 ). Specimens in alcohol yellowish white to yellowish brown; a recently collected male greyish white.

HEAD ( Figs 8 B–C, 9B–E). Without ommatidia. Frontal setae absent. Labrum without labral teeth, with four supralabral and 12–19 labral setae. Gnathochilarium with rhomboid promentum; lamellae linguales with 2+2–3+3 shorter basal setae and 3+5 or 4+4 long distal setae in a transverse row; stipites with 3+3–4+4 distolateral setae and 5+5–9+9 medial setae. Antennae 1.8 mm long (in male from Kotias Cave), their length ca 130% of vertical diameter of largest body ring. Lengths of antennomeres I–VIII (in mm): 0.16 (I), 0.44 (II), 0.33 (III), 0.27 (IV), 0.35 (V), 0.15 (VI), 0.08 (VII) and 0.02 (VIII). Length/width ratio of antennomeres I–VII: 0.8 (I), 2.7 (II), 1.9 (III), 1.6 (IV), 1.8 (V), 0.9 (VI) and 0.7 (VII). Antennomeres V and VI each with a terminal corolla of large sensilla basiconica bacilliformia; antennomere VII with a terminal corolla of small sensilla basiconica bacilliformia.

BODY RINGS ( Fig. 8G ). Ventrolateral sides of metazonae with longitudinal striations; dorsal and dorsolateral sides smooth. Length of midbody setae ca 6% of vertical diameter of rings.

TELSON ( Figs 7D , 8 D–E). Epiproct without preanal process. Paraprocts rounded, setose, mesal edges strongly bulging, resembling lips. Hypoproct more or less lanceolate, with a slightly protruding mesodistal margin and two long apical setae.

LEGS IN MALES. First pair of legs modified, hook-shaped ( Figs 9A , 10D ), with three complete podomeres; coxa with one seta; prefemur with 3–5 setae; femur, postfemur and tibiotarsus coalesced; femur with three setae; postfemur with one seta. Tip slightly tuberculated. Postfemoral and tibial ventral pads poorly developed, more or less clearly visible on pregonopodal legs, only remnants on postgonopodal legs.

VENTRAL MARGIN OF MALE BODY RING 7 ( Fig. 8F ). Low, more subquadrate in lateral view.

PENES. Not checked.

GONOPODS ( Figs 2B , 9F , 10 A–C). Promere (p) long and slender, with a flagellum (f); apical part spatulate, with denticulate margins; basal half with two developed ridges. Mesomere (m) with a hook-shaped mesomeral claw (mc), without denticles; mesomeral lamella (ml) high, slightly serrate, posterior part finely fimbriate. Opisthomere (o) bipartite. Anterior branch of o with a solenomere (s) with a mediumsized tip, and a well-developed and fimbriate velum (v). Posterior branch of o in form of a shield-like protective lamella (pl). Mesomere and opisthomere connected basally with an accessory membrane (am).

Distribution

Known from five caves in Kutaisi, Ambrolauri and Chiatura districts in Central-West Georgia ( Fig. 58 , blue square).

Remarks

The type locality Rionhesi (= Sapichkhia) Cave is submerged due to the construction of the Rioni Hydroelectric Power Station near Kutaisi, in the early 1930s. This species was declared as probably extinct by Golovatch (1983, 1985) and Barjadze et al. (2018), but now with the discovery of new specimens in four additional caves in the same region, it has really been ‘brought back to life’.

Verhoeff (1930) stated that specimens he examined had been found in small ponds. In addition to this, two males collected from the Kotias Cave were observed crawling on stones under the water (G. Nebieridze pers. comm.). In the same cave, L. longipes lives in sympatry with L. gioi sp. nov., a species with normal mouthparts.

Together with L. gioi sp. nov., these species represent the southeasternmost records of the genus Leucogeorgia .

Figures

Fig. 2. Gonopods, mesal view. A. Leucogeorgia lobata sp. nov., right gonopods, paratype ♂ from Kalitshona Cave (ZMUM). B. L. longipes Verhoeff, 1930, right gonopods, ♂ from Dolabistavi Cave (SMNG). C. L. prometheus sp. nov., left gonopods, non-type ♂ from Sataplia II Cave (ZMUM). D. L. satunini (Lohmander, 1936) comb. nov., right gonopods, ♂ from Kelasurskaya Cave (ZMUM). Abbreviations: am = accessory membrane; f = flagellum; l = lobe; m = mesomere; mc = mesomeral claw; ml = mesomeral lamella; o = opisthomere; p = promere; pl = protective lamella; s = solenomere; v = velum.

Fig. 7. Leucogeorgia longipes Verhoeff, 1930. A. Paralectotype ♂ (NHMW 9980), habitus, lateral view. B–D. Lectotype ♂ (NHMW 3063). B. Habitus, lateral view. C. Anterior part of body, lateral view. D. Posterior part of body, lateral view. Photos: Oliver Macek (NHMW). Scale bars: A–B = 1 mm; C–D = 0.5 mm.

Fig. 8. Leucogeorgia longipes Verhoeff, 1930 (A–D, F–G: ♂♂ from Kotias Cave (IZISU); E: ♂ from Dolabistavi Cave (SMNG)). A. Habitus, lateral view. B. Anterior part of body, anterolateral view. C. Head, anterodorsal view. D. Telson, lateral view. E. Telson, ventral view. F. Body ring 7, lateral view. G. Midbody rings, lateral view. Arrows indicate metazonal setae. Scale bars: A = 5 mm; B, D, F = 1 mm; C, E, G = 0.5 mm.

Fig. 9. Leucogeorgia longipes Verhoeff, 1930, ♂ from Dolabistavi Cave (SMNG). A. Left leg 1, lateral view. B. Head, ventral view. C. Head, anterior view. D. Head, lateral view. E. Anterior part of head, ventral view. F. Right gonopods, mesal view. Abbreviations: am = accessory membrane; f = flagellum; m = mesomere; mc = mesomeral claw; ml = mesomeral lamella; o = opisthomere; p = promere; pl = protective lamella; s = solenomere; v = velum. Scale bars: A, E = 0.05 mm; B–D = 0.2 mm; F = 0.1 mm.

Fig. 10. Leucogeorgia longipes Verhoeff, 1930, ♂ from Kotias Cave (IZISU). A. Left gonopods, mesal view. B. Right promere, lateral view. C. Left gonopods, lateral view (flipped). D. Right leg 1, anterior view. Scale bar: 0.3 mm.

Fig. 56. General distribution of the Caucasian leucogeorgiinines. The white dashed line hypothetically indicates the boundary between the northwestern and southeastern groups of species of the genus Leucogeorgia Verhoeff, 1930.

Fig. 58. Distribution of the southeastern group of the genus Leucogeorgia Verhoeff, 1930 and the species Martvilia parva gen. et sp. nov.