Rhodopodesmus, Antić & Vagalinski & Stoev & Akkari, 2022

Antic, Dragan, Vagalinski, Boyan, Stoev, Pavel & Akkari, Nesrine, 2022, A review of the cavernicolous Trichopolydesmidae (Diplopoda, Polydesmida) from the Carpathian-Balkan arch and the Rhodope Mountains, with descriptions of two new genera and three new species, ZooKeys 1097, pp. 1-46 : 1

Genus Rhodopodesmus gen. nov.

Type species.

Rhodopodesmus niveus gen. nov. et sp. nov., by monotypy.

Diagnosis.

Differs from all European Trichopolydesmidae by the presence of characteristic acropodite of the gonopods divided into two branches that are parallel and completely meso-laterally oriented to each other, with solenomeral branch transversely tripartite, where the proximal-most branch is the shortest, while solenomere and distal solenomeral process are longer and of the same length. The most similar genus is Balkanodesminus gen. nov., but it differs from Rhodopodesmus gen. nov., by the presence of bifid solenomeral branch (for more details on gonopod differences see below under Remarks).

In addition, the diagnosis can be amended with the following combination of characters: small size (4.3-5.4 mm), 19 body rings (including telson), sensilla basiconica on antennomere 6 partially exposed outside the pit, hypoproct with more than two long distal setae, paraprocts with more than 2+2 long setae, metaterga with 4-8 irregular rows of medium-sized trichoid setae.

Name.

The new genus is named after the Rhodope Mountains, its type locality, in combination with - desmus, the common suffix in Polydesmida . The name is a masculine noun.