Touranella champasak, Nguyen & Sierwald & Ware, 2023

Nguyen, Anh D., Sierwald, Petra & Ware, Stephanie, 2023, First record of the genus Touranella Attems, 1937 (Diplopoda, Polydesmida, Paradoxosomatidae) from Laos, with a description of a new species, ZooKeys 1145, pp. 169-180 : 169

publication ID	https://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1145.98704
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:60916C2D-BA3D-4553-9E02-31F9D1F9F034
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/09F5D34D-0F66-44F5-A53B-CE90DB8B0244
taxon LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:act:09F5D34D-0F66-44F5-A53B-CE90DB8B0244
treatment provided by	ZooKeys by Pensoft
scientific name	Touranella champasak
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Touranella champasak sp. nov.

Figs 2 View Figure 2 , 3 View Figure 3 , 4 View Figure 4 , 5 View Figure 5 , 6 View Figure 6

Material examined.

Holotype: Laos • male; Champasak Province, Bolaven Plateau, Ban Thongvay (=Xekatam), vic. old logging road, N of village; 15°14.288'N, 106°31.891'E; 1,095 m elev.; 8-16 June 2008; A. Newton & M. Thayer leg.; selectively logged forest, FMHD#2008-037, flight intercept trap, ANMT site 1231; FMNHINS 3716303. GoogleMaps

Diagnosis.

The new species can be recognized by a submoniliform body; poorly developed paraterga; sparsely setose metaterga; the presence of a highly elevated, setose, trapeziform, sternal process between male coxae 4; a strongly reduced gonofemorite devoid of a femoral process; a somewhat twisted solenophore that distally sheaths a rod-shaped solenomere; and well-developed lamina medialis and lamina lateralis.

The species is most similar to Touranella moniliformis Golovatch & Semenyuk, 2018 from Cat Tien NP (Vietnam) by having a (sub-)moniliform body, poorly developed paraterga, and sparsely setose metaterga. The two species can be distinguished by the gonopod conformation, and the presence of a gonofemoral process in T. moniliformis (absent from the new species).

Regarding the absence of a gonofemoral process, the new species is similar to T. peculiaris Golovatch, 2009, but can be distinguished by a strongly reduced gonofemorite (vs considerably elongated in T. peculiaris ).

Etymology.

The species epithet, " champasak ", is a noun in apposition and refers to the province name where the type was collected.

Description.

Holotype length ca 21.6 mm, width of midbody pro- and metazona about 1.5 mm and 1.9 mm, respectively.

Body brown and darkish brown, except several antennomeres; legs and sterna brownish yellow or yellow; posterior margins of prozonae and metazonae, anterior margins of metazonae, and transverse sulcus black; metaterga with a yellow axial band running from collum to telson (Fig. 2D View Figure 2 ).

Antenna long and slender, approximately reaching to segment 5 when extended back; antennomere 1 very short and robust (Fig. 2B View Figure 2 ); antennomere 2=3=4=5=6> 7 in length. Tip with four sensory cones. Antennomere 2 strongly constricted at base (Fig. 2A, B View Figure 2 ).

Collum smooth and shiny, suboval, with two rows of setae: 3+3 anterior and 2+2 posterior. Paraterga small, broadly rounded lobe (Fig. 2A View Figure 2 ).

Body submoniliform. Prozonae and metazonae smooth, shiny (Figs 2A, C-D View Figure 2 , 3 View Figure 3 ). Metatergal transverse sulcus present from segment 5, but completely developed starting on bodyring 6 (Fig. 2D View Figure 2 ). Metaterga with traces of two setal rows: 2+2 anterior and 2+2 posterior. Pleurosternal carinae present as full crests on segments 2-4, becoming less developed on subsequent segments, completely missing on segments 18-19. Stricture between pro- and metazonae very distinct, fully striolate at bottom on both dorsal and lateral sides (Fig. 3D View Figure 3 ). Axial line thin, distinct.

Paraterga (Figs 2C, D View Figure 2 , 3B, C View Figure 3 ) yellowish, small as complete crests from lateral side, but more obvious on pore-bearing segments, slightly directed caudally upwards.

Epiproct (epi) (Fig. 3B-D View Figure 3 ) long, broadly truncated, flattened dorsoventrally, lateral tubercles minute; tip with four spinnerets. Hypoproct (hyp) (Fig. 3D View Figure 3 ) subtrapeziform, with two separated, distolateral, setiferous knobs. Paraprocts (par) sub-semicircular with two distinct setiferous knobs.

Legs long and slender, about 1.7-1.8 times as long as midbody height. Prefemora not swollen. Femora without modification. Tarsal brushes (Fig. 4B View Figure 4 ) present on legs until segment 16.

Sterna (Fig. 3A, D View Figure 3 ) with distinct cross-impression, without modifications except a highly elevated, setose trapeziform process between coxae 4 (Fig. 4A, C View Figure 4 ). This process carrying a setal brush on anterior side and two pores at base.

Gonopods (Figs 4C, D View Figure 4 , 5 View Figure 5 , 6 View Figure 6 ) simple. Coxite (co) subcylindrical, as long as about ½ telopodite, distoventral part sparsely setose. Prefemorite (pref) short, densely setose. Femorite (fe) strongly reduced, without femoral process. Postfemoral region extremely long, consisting of only solenomere (sl) and solenophore (sph). Solenomere rod-shaped, arising from prefemorite, distal part sheathed by solenophore, which is suberect, slightly twisted at distal part; lamina lateralis with an apical spine and a well-developed, rounded lobe. Tip of gonopod serrated with three distinct denticles.

Remarks.

Even though the distributional gap is slightly narrowed by the occurrence of this genus in Laos, more species most probably have yet to be discovered, at least in and between southern Vietnam and Nepal, including Laos, northern Thailand, and Myanmar (Fig. 1 View Figure 1 ).