Brunsonia pulchra, Shear & Richart & Wong, 2020

Shear, William A., Richart, Casey H. & Wong, Victoria L., 2020, The millipede family Conotylidae in northwestern North America, with a complete bibliography of the family (Diplopoda, Chordeumatida, Heterochordeumatidea, Conotyloidea), Zootaxa 4753 (1), pp. 1-78 : 36-37

Brunsonia pulchra , new species

Figs. 138–152

Types: Male holotype, four male and four female paratypes from IDAHO: Kootenai Co., Beauty Creek, Idaho Panhandle National Forests , elev., 900 m., 47.6031°N, - 116.6453°W, collected 6 November 2004, by W. Leonard, C. Richart, J. Baugh from the litter and woody debris of a mixed forest including Tsuga heterophylla , Rubus parviflorus , Thuja plicata , Prunus emarginata , moss-covered boulders, Pseudotsuga menziesii , and Taxus brevifolia .

Diagnosis: Brunsonia pulchra is the larger of two conotylid species found in the vicinity of Beauty Creek, about 13–14.5 mm long, as opposed to 10–11 mm for Taiyutyla amicitia , described above. The extraordinary complexity of the male posterior gonopod coxites separates it from all others.

Etymology: The species name is an adjective referring to the type locality, site of the discovery of several additional new millipede species of other families yet to be described, and also to the complex coxites of the posterior gonopods of males.

Description: Paratype male from Beauty Creek: Length, 14.0 mm. Twenty-two ocelli in triangular eyepatch. Metazonites with low shoulders on all trunk rings except the last few. Color light brown, marked darker purplish brown, markings more distinct anteriorly. Legpairs one and two reduced, three to seven enlarged, mesal knobs present on all femora except seventh; knob a low swelling on third, large and distal on fourth, distal and small on fifth, large and distal on sixth femora ( Figs. 148–152 ). Anterior gonopods ( Figs. 138, 139 , 142, 143 , 144–146 ) with a strong, mesobasal branch tipped with small cuticular projections ( Fig. 143 ), main branch with shallowly hooked tip. Posterior gonopod coxites ( Figs. 140 , 141 , 147 ) complicated, mesally with densely fimbriate region, usual fimbriate branch displaced to lateral side, mesally with two thin, clavate branches and hastate process bearing many leaf-like projections. Posterior gonopod sternum elongated between coxites; telopodite prefemur strongly clavate. Legpair 10 coxae of normal size, with small glands, legpair 11 prefemora with long, thin, dorsally directed knobs.

Female 14.5 mm long, similar to male in nonsexual characters.

Distribution: IDAHO: Kootenai Co., Idaho Panhandle National Forests, Beauty Creek, Beauty Creek Road (FS-438) 1.3 mi SE of SR-97, elev. 720 m., 47.6015°N, - 116.6579°W, 18 October 2009, W. Leonard, C. Richart, from the litter and woody debris of a Pseudotsuga menziesii forest with moss-covered talus, 3mm 2ff.

Notes: This species seems closer to B. atrolineata than to B. albertana , based on the form of the anterior gonopods. At Beauty Creek it is syntopic with Taiyutyla amicitia , n. sp.; see the notes on that species for details.

The process on the posterior gonopod coxite with distal leaf-like projections is not easily seen in the SEM illustrations ( Fig. 141 ) but was clear in the microscope slide preparations. ( Fig.147 ).

Figures

FIGS. 136–140. Brunsonia spp. Figs. 136, 137. Brunsonia albertana, Montana form. Fig. 136. Anterior gonopods, posterior view. Fig. 137. Right posterior gonopod coxite, posterior view. FIGS. 138–140. Brunsonia pulchra. Fig. 138. Anterior gonopods, posterior view. Fig. 139. Right anterior gonopod, mesal view. Fig. 140. Right posterior gonopod coxite, posterior view.

FIGS. 141–143. Brunsonia pulchra. Fig. 141. Posterior gonopod coxites, posterior view. Fig. 142. Right anterior gonopod, lateral view. Fig. 143. Detail of left anterior gonopod, mesal view.

FIGS. 144–154. Brunsonia spp. Figs. 145–152. Brunsonia pulchra. Figs. 144–146.Anterior gonopods. Fig. 144. Anterior view. Fig. 145. Posterior view. Fig. 146. Mesal view. Fig. 147. Left posterior gonopod coxite, posterior view. Figs. 148–152. Male legs 3–7, respectively. Figs. 153, 154. Brunsonia digitata. Fig. 153. Left anterior gonopod, posterior view. Fig. 154. Left posterior gonopod coxite, posterior view.