Zehntnerobolus rubripes ( de Saussure & Zehntner, 1897 ) Wesener & Enghoff & Sierwald, 2009

Wesener, Thomas, Enghoff, Henrik & Sierwald, Petra, 2009, Review of the Spirobolida on Madagascar, with descriptions of twelve new genera, including three genera of ' fire millipedes' (Diplopoda), ZooKeys 19 (19), pp. 1-128 : 38-41

Zehntnerobolus rubripes ( de Saussure & Zehntner, 1897) , comb. n.

Spirobolus rubripes de Saussure & Zehntner, 1897 : plate XI, fig. 48, plate XII, fig. 6.

Spirostrophus rubripes, de Saussure and Zehntner 1902: 154 .

NOT Spirostrophus rubripes Attems, 1927: 64

Spirostrophus rubripes, Enghoff 2003: 624 (lists species name).

Comments: drawings of Zehntnerobolus rubripes were first published under the name Spirobolus rubripes ( de Saussure & Zehntner, 1897) . Spirobolus is an East Asian genus. So, when publishing the text description in 1902, de Saussure and Zehntner put S. rubripes in the newly erected genus Spirostrophus , which included a non-related assemblage of species. However, they already noted: “Le S. rubripes offre de caractères un peu aberrantes: il est par conséquent difficile à classer. [...]. La position de cette espèce est donc incertaine.” (de Saussure and Zehntner 1902: 158). They, unfortunately, did not put S. rubripes into a new genus. The description of Spirostrophus rubripes by de

Saussure and Zehntner was obviously all but forgotten, because Attems also named a non-related species from Indonesia Spirostrophus rubripes Attems, 1927 . The type species of the genus Spirostrophus is now regarded as a synonym of the type species of the East Indian genus Leptogoniulus Silvestri, 1897 ( Hoffman 1980, Shelley and Lehtinen 1999). Spirostrophus rubripes ( de Saussure & Zehntner, 1897 shares no characters with Leptogoniulus , therefore a new genus had to be established to incorporate this species.

Material examined: 2 ♂, 2 ♀ Lectotype: designated herewith to fix the concept of Zehntnerobolus rubripes ( de Saussure & Zehntner, 1897) and to ensure the universal and consistent interpretation of the same : ♂ (dissected, 30 mm long), MNHN HB049. Madagascar, Province Toamasina, Forêt de Moramanga , rainforest, 18°56’20” S, 48°13’40” E, leg. Musée de Genève, det. de Saussure , 1903. Paratypes: 1 ♂, 2 ♀, MNHN HB049, same data as lectotype .

Additional locality data from the literature: de Saussure and Zehntner 1902: Madagascar, Forêt d’Andrangoloaka, rainforest, 19°2’0.00” S, 47°55’0.12” E, leg. Franz Sikora (1886–1892) .

Description. Measurements: males with 38 or 39 rings, circa 32 mm long, 2.9 mm wide. Females with 39 or 40 rings, 36–37 mm long, 3.7 mm wide.

Coloration decolorized in alcohol. Head, antennae and legs red (according to drawing and original description). Body ventrally and dorsally on meso- and metazonites pitchblack. Mesozonites dorsolaterally blood-red (see de Saussure and Zehntner 1897: plate XI, fig. 48).

Head: each eye with circa 26–28 ocelli arranged in 6 or 7 vertical rows. Labrum with standard three irregular teeth and a single row of 10–12 stout marginal setae. Clypeus with two setiferous foveolae on each side. Antennal cavity absent. Antennae of medium length, protruding back to ring 4 in females, ring 5 in males. Relative lengths of antennomeres: 1<<2=3=4=5=6. Terminal antennomere with four large sensory cones located together inside a membranous area. Antennomere 5 latero-apically with five rows, antennomere 6 with four rows of sensilla basiconica.

Gnathochilarium: of usual spirobolidan shape. Lamellae linguales each with two standard setae located behind one another. Stipites each with three apical setae. Basal parts could not be studied because a dissection was not attempted. Mandible not dissected.

Collum: smooth, laterally not protruding as far as ring 2.

Body rings: mostly smooth, with some transverse impressions on mesozona. Ozopores starting at ring 6, located closely in front of, but not touching suture between mesozona and metazona.

Telson: anal valves with neither lips, nor micropunctation. Preanal process sharp, but not protruding above anal valves ( Fig. 22A ).

Legs: coxae 1 and 2 elongated and fused with sternum, podomeres from prefemur to tarsus in both sexes each with 4–10 ventral/mesal setae. Length of midbody legs circa 0.8 times body diameter in females ( Fig. 22B ), circa 1.0 times body diameter in males ( Fig. 22C ). Each podomere ventrally with an apical seta. Coxae 3 and beyond of cylindrical shape. Tarsus with a stout dorso-apical seta and three pairs of regular ventral spines.

Male sexual characters: tarsal pads absent ( Fig. 22C ). Coxae 3–5 each with a large conical coxal process, protruding posteriorly to coxa 6.

Anterior gonopod sternite elongated into a wide, rounded lobe, apically with three very short, well-rounded tips ( Fig. 22D ). Mesal process of coxite absent. Telopodite on posterior side basally with a circular groove ( Fig. 22E ). Telopodite process slender and short, curved laterally ( Fig. 23E ). Lateral margin elevated ( Fig. 22E ).

Posterior gonopods unique ( Figs 22F, G ). Gonopod pair connected by a sclerotized and visible sternite. Telopodites positioned parallel to one another, sperm canal discharging laterally ( Fig. 23G ). Coxite and telopodite separated by a suture; coxite with a single groove. Telopodite with torsion, tip of telopodite curved laterally, with a sharp-edged tip ( Fig. 22F ). Sperm canal laterally strongly projecting over telopodite margin ( Fig. 22G ). Basally of projection of sperm canal with a row of sclerotized nodules ( Fig. 22G ). Sperm canal running through coxite at mesal, through telopodite at lateral margin ( Fig. 22G ).

Female sexual characters: vulva simple, bivalve-like.

Intraspecific variation: the measurements of the type series fit in very well with those recorded in the literature (de Saussure and Zehntner 1902: 159).

Figures

Figure 22. Zehntnerobolus rubripes comb. n., A, C–G male lectotype, B female paratype, A telson B, C right midbody leg D anterior gonopod, anterior view E anterior gonopod, posterior view F left posterior gonopod, anterior view G left posterior gonopod, posterior view. Apo = apodeme; av = anal valves; Cx = coxite; Gr = groove; Pre = preanal ring; St = sternite; sub = subanal scale; T = telopodite; Tp = telopodite process. Scale bars = 1 mm.

Figure 23. Flagellobolus pauliani sp. n., male holotype, A telson B left midbody leg C anterior gonopod, anterior view D anterior gonopod, posterior view E posterior gonopods, posterior view, slightly turned F posterior gonopods, posterior view, original position. av = anal valves; cp = coxite process; Cx = coxite; Pre = preanal ring; rp = retrorse process; St = sternite; sub = subanal scale; T = telopodite; Tp = telopodite process. Scale bars = 1 mm.