Atelomastix psittacina, Edward & Harvey, 2010

Edward, Karen L. & Harvey, Mark S., 2010, A review of the Australian millipede genus Atelomastix (Diplopoda: Spirostreptida: Iulomorphidae) 2371, Zootaxa 2371 (1), pp. 1-63 : 31-33

Atelomastix psittacina , sp. nov.

Figs. 9 , 70, 125–127.

Type material: AUSTRALIA: Western Australia: holotype male, St Mary River, 5 km inland, Fitzgerald River National Park , 34°10’S, 119°32’E, hand collected under rock, 31 May 1994, M.S. Harvey, J.M. Waldock ( WAM T 73956) . Paratype: 1 male, collected with holotype ( WAM T 73957) .

Other material examined: AUSTRALIA: Western Australia: 2 males, collected with holotype ( WAM T 47915) ; 2 males, East Mount Barren slopes, Fitzgerald River National Park , 33°55’S, 120° 01’E, hand collected, 26 May 1994, M.S. Harvey, J.M. Waldock, G. Harrold, N. Brown ( WAM T 47918) ; 27 males, 35 females, East Mount Barren slopes, Fitzgerald River National Park , 33°55’29”S, 120°01’05”E, hand collected under rocks, 26 May 2007, M.C. Leng, M.L. Moir ( WAM T80786, T80788) ; 2 males, 1 female, Eyre Range, Fitzgerald River National Park , unburnt gully, 33°50’50”S, 119°57’07”E, hand collected under rocks, 30 May 2007, M.C. Leng, M.L. Moir ( WAM T 80795) ; 6 males, 7 females, Eyre Range, near summit of small hill, Fitzgerald River National Park , 33°51’11”S, 119°58’07”E, tulgren funnel leaf litter, 30 May 2007, M.C. Leng, M.L. Moir ( WAM T81056, T80791) ; 11 males, 25 females, Rocky outcrop NE. of Point Edwards, Fitzgerald River National Park , 33°57’37”S, 119°57’28”E, hand collected under rocks, 26 May 2007, M.C. Leng, M.L. Moir ( WAM T 80762– T 80763) ; 23 males, 35 females, Whoobarup Range, burnt summit, Fitzgerald River National Park , 33°56’20”S, 119°50’52”E, hand collected under rocks, 31 May 2007, M.C. Leng, M.L. Moir ( WAM T80748, T80749) ; 1 male, 2 females, Whoobarup Range, unburnt gully, Fitzgerald River National Park , 33°56’17”S, 119°51’24”E, hand collected under rocks, 31 May 2007, M.C. Leng, M.L. Moir ( WAM T 80752) ; 1 male, 4 females, Ravensthorpe Ranges , 33°32’35”S, 120°06’17”E, hand collected in leaf litter and under rocks, 21 May 2007, M.C. Leng, M.L. Moir ( WAM T 80943) ; 4 males, 5 females, Ravensthorpe Ranges , 33°31’58”S, 120°05’01”E, hand collected in leaf litter and under rocks, 22 May 2007, M.C. Leng, M.L. Moir ( WAM T 80957) ; 4 males, 6 females, Ravensthorpe Ranges , 33°30’13”S, 120°01’58”E, hand collected in leaf litter, 23 May 2007, M.C. Leng, M.L. Moir ( WAM T 80974) ; 1 male, Mount Chester, Ravensthorpe Ranges , 33°36’18”S, 120°08’34”E, hand collected under rock, 10 September 2007, M.C. Leng ( WAM T 81294) ; 1 male, 7 females, Ravensthorpe Ranges , 33°36’59”S, 120°09’38”E, hand collected in leaf litter, 13 September 2007, M.C. Leng, J. Newell ( WAM T 81296) ; 2 males, 5 females, Ravensthorpe Ranges , 33°38’16”S, 120°10’46”E, hand collected in leaf litter and under rocks, 17 May 2007, M.C. Leng, M.L. Moir ( WAM T 80880) ; 1 male, 4 females, Ravensthorpe Ranges , 33°40’57.00S, 120°17’39.02E, hand collected in leaf litter, 18 May 2007, M.C. Leng, M.L. Moir ( WAM T 80893) ; 1 male, 11 females, Ravensthorpe Ranges , 33°34’35”S, 120°13’45”E, hand collected in leaf litter and under rocks, 19 May 2007, M.C. Leng, M.L. Moir ( WAM T 80903) ; 1 male, 4 females, Ravensthorpe Ranges , 33°43’38.02S, 120°13’24.06E, hand collected in leaf litter and under rocks, 19 May 2007, M.C. Leng, M.L. Moir ( WAM T 80905) ; 1 male, 5 females, Ravensthorpe Ranges , 33°40’57”S, 120°17’39”E, hand collected under rocks, 16 September 2007, M.C. Leng, J. Newell ( WAM T 81297) ; 6 males, 14 females, Ravensthorpe Ranges , 33°40’57”S, 120°17’39”E, hand collected in leaf litter and under rocks, 19 September 2007, M.C. Leng, M.L. Moir ( WAM T 80908) ; 2 males, 1 female, Ravensthorpe Ranges , 33°36’42”S, 120°09’03”E, hand collected under rocks, 24 May 2007, M.C. Leng, M.L. Moir ( WAM T 80997) ; 1 male, 1 female, Ravensthorpe Ranges , 33°38’19”S, 120°11’16”E, hand collected in leaf litter and under rocks, 28 May 2007, M.C. Leng, M.L. Moir ( WAM T 81014) ; 3 males, 1 female, Ravensthorpe Ranges , 33°36’10”S, 120°10’15”E, hand collected in leaf litter and under rocks, 16 May 2007, M.C. Leng, M.L. Moir ( WAM T 80869) ; 3 males, 1 female, Ravensthorpe Ranges , 33°36’15”S, 120°10’22”E, hand collected in leaf litter, 16 May 2007, M.C. Leng, M.L. Moir ( WAM T 80875) .

Etymology: This species is named for the parrot beak-shaped distal tip of the male gonopod sclerite b (psittacinus, Latin, of parrots).

Diagnosis: Sclerite c of the male gonopod of Atelomastix psittacina is not bifurcated, but tapers to a straight rounded tip, which is slightly distally enlarged and generally shorter than the distal edge of sclerite b. Sclerite b is variable in shape but generally curved distally and shaped like a bird’s head. This species is similar to A. melindae and A. culleni but can be distinguished by the tapering distal tip of sclerite c that is rounded distally and can be symmetrical to slightly asymmetrical compared with the bifurcated, angular distal tip of A. melindae . It can be distinguished from A. culleni by the concavity on the interno-lateral side of the gonopod, and the curved hook tip of sclerite b compared with the broadened distal tip, internally placed concavity of sclerite c, and rounded tip of sclerite b in A. culleni .

Description: Male (holotype). Colour: generally dark brown; legs, mouthparts, gonopods golden brown; prozonites brown to dark brown, metazonites golden brown in preserved specimens.

Body: ca. 27 mm long and ca. 1.8 mm wide at collum. With 52 trunk segments, 93 pairs of legs, last 2 segments without legs.

Head: with ca. 40 ocelli ( Fig. 70), arranged in 5 rows (5: 7: 9: 9: 10).

Gonopods: anterior gonopods ( Figs. 125–127) lightly sclerotised, 2.4 times longer than broad; sclerite a with swollen base that forms broad, curved distal hood; upper distal face of sclerite a with 24–25 (n=2) short blunt setae; pseudoflagellum relatively short and partially visible beneath distal hood; sclerite b variable in shape but generally broad and curved distally forming a beak-like hook, with 4–8 (n=2) setae; basal process of sclerite b small and triangular, 0.05 times length of main process; sclerite c not bifurcate, with rounded distal tip varying in shape from symmetrical to slightly asymetrical, with 6–7 setae (n=2); one sub-basal setae present where sclerites overlap and group of 12 short setae sub-basally on sclerite c; posterior gonopods inconspicuous, small, with several small setae on interno-lateral face of each gonopod.

Dimensions (mm): holotype male (paratype male, WAM T 73957): length ca. 27 (31), width ca. 1.8 (1.9); L/W=14.7 (16.9); sclerite a 1.168 / 0.480 (1.2/0.576), setae 24 (25); sclerite b 0.426 (0.435), basal process of sclerite b 0.058 (0.032), setae 8 (4); sclerite c 0.736 (0.8), setae 7 (6) .

Female. Similar to male, other than sexual characters, and slightly larger.

Distribution and habitat: This species has been collected from a number of localities in leaf litter, in creek beds and under rocks in the coastal granite outcrops of the Fitzgerald River National Park and the Ravensthorpe Ranges ( Fig. 9 ).

Figures

FIGURES 7–9. Recorded distributions of Atelomastix species: 7: A. brennani, sp. nov. (●), A. culleni, sp. nov. (․), A. flavognatha, sp. nov. (♦), A. gibsoni, sp. nov. () and A. melindae, sp. nov. (̝); 8: A. anancita, sp. nov. (●), A. dendritica, sp. nov. (․), A. lengae, sp. nov. (♦), A. longbottomi, sp. nov. () and A. priona, sp. nov. (̝); 9: A. grandis, sp. nov. (●), A. psittacina, sp. nov. (․) and A. sarahae, sp. nov. (♦).