Desmoxytes breviverpa Srisonchai, Enghoff & Panha, 2016

Srisonchai, Ruttapon, Enghoff, Henrik, Likhitrakarn, Natdanai & Panha, Somsak, 2018, A revision of dragon millipedes I: genus Desmoxytes Chamberlin, 1923, with the description of eight new species (Diplopoda, Polydesmida, Paradoxosomatidae), ZooKeys 761, pp. 1-177 : 1

Desmoxytes breviverpa Srisonchai, Enghoff & Panha, 2016 Fig. 15

Desmoxytes breviverpa Srisonchai, Enghoff & Panha, 2016: 99.

Material examined. Holotype.

Male (CUMZ), THAILAND, Phrae Province, Long District, in front of Sareethai Cave, 18°16'43"N, 100°03'29"E, ca. 292 m a.s.l., 21 October 2014, leg. C. Sutcharit, W. Siriwut, K. Inkhavilay and R. Srisonchai.

Paratypes.

27 males, 7 females (CUMZ), 3 males, 2 females (ZMUC), same data as holotype. 5 males, 3 females (CUMZ), THAILAND, Phrae Province, Long District, in front of Sareethai Cave, 18°16'43"N, 100°03'29"E, ca. 292 m a.s.l., 21 July 2008, leg. N. Likhitrakarn. 1 male, 3 females (CUMZ), THAILAND, Lampang Province, Mae Tha District, Nakraua Subdistrict, Wat Tham Phra Sabai, 18°05'32"N, 99°32'03"E, ca. 328 m a.s.l., 21 July 2008, leg. S. Panha, P. Tongkerd and N. Likhitrakarn. 1 male, 5 females (CUMZ), THAILAND, Lampang Province, Mae Tha District, Tham Chakkrabhat Monastery (Wat Tham Chakkrabhat), 18°06'02"N, 99°56'48"E, ca. 210 m a.s.l., 8 October 2007, leg. U. Bantaowong, R. Chanabun, P. Pimvichai and T. Krutchuen.

Further specimens,

all from THAILAND: 2 males, 5 broken males, 1 male with rings 1-8, 6 broken females (CUMZ), Uttaradit Province, Thong Saen Khan District, Tham Chan (Chan Cave), 17°35'00"N, 100°25'21"E, ca. 164 m a.s.l., 22 July 2008, leg. S. Panha and ASRU members. 1 male, 1 female (CUMZ), Lampang Province, Mae Tha District, Nakraua Subdistrict, Wat Tham Phra Sabai, 18°05'32"N, 99°32'03"E, ca. 328 m a.s.l., 21 July 2008, leg. S. Panha and ASRU members.

Diagnosis.

Differs from all other Desmoxytes species by the combination of the following characters; body purple pink; collum with rows of 3+3 anterior, 1+1 intermediate and 2+2 posterior setiferous tubercles; sternal lobe between male coxae 4 subrectangular, quite long and thick when seen in lateral view; ventral lobe (vll) of lamina lateralis quite long, digitiform, directed ventrad; distal lobe (dlm) distally with two lamellae (mesal lamella smaller than lateral one; lateral lamella thin, tip directed almost in vertical plane); broad lobe (blm) thick, obviously demarcated from distal lobe by a deep and wide indentation; solenomere (sl) short.

Type locality.

THAILAND, Phrae Province, Long District, in front of Sareethai Cave.

Redescription

(updated from Srisonchai et al. 2016). SIZE: Length 28-33 mm (male), 33-38 mm (female); width of midbody metazona ca. 2.2 mm (male), 3.5 mm (female). Width of head <collum = body ring 2 = 3 ≤ 4 <5 <6-17, thereafter body gradually tapering toward telson.

COLOUR: In life with body shocking pink to purple (some female specimens brownish pink); paraterga vivid pink; metaterga and surface below paraterga brownish pink to brownish purple; head brown; antenna blackish brown (except distal part of antennomere 7 and antennomere 8 whitish); legs, sterna and epiproct pink; a few basal podomeres whitish pink. Colour in alcohol: after two years changed to pale brown.

ANTENNAE: Long and slender, reaching to body ring 6 (male), and 5 (female) when stretched dorsally.

COLLUM: With 3 transverse rows of setiferous tubercles, 3+3 anterior, 1+1 intermediate and 2+2 posterior tubercles (excluding small setiferous notches at base of paraterga), lateral tubercles of posterior row located at almost halfway to intermediate row; paraterga of collum low, elevated at ca. 30°, directed caudolaterad, with two setiferous notches on lateral margin (first inconspicuous notch located at the base of paratergum, second one conspicuous).

TEGUMENT: Moderately shining; collum, metaterga and surface below paraterga coarsely microgranulate; prozona finely shagreened; paraterga, sterna and epiproct smooth.

METATERGA: With 2 transverse rows of setiferous tubercles and rose thorn-like spines; metaterga 2-18 with 2+2 anterior and 2+2 posterior spines; metatergum 19 with 2+2 anterior and 2+2 posterior spines (tubercles in some specimens).

PARATERGA: Directed caudolaterad on body rings 2-17, elevated at ca. 45° (male) 40° (female); directed increasingly caudad on body rings 18 and 19; anterior margin with 2 distinct notches, on lateral margin of body rings 9, 10, 12, 13, 15-18 with tiny denticle near the tip.

TELSON: Epiproct: tip subtruncate; lateral setiferous tubercles inconspicuous; apical tubercles inconspicuous. Hypoproct subsemicircular (in some specimens subtrapeziform); caudal margin round, with inconspicuous setiferous tubercles.

STERNA: Cross-impressions shallow. Sternal lobe between male coxae 4 swollen, usually subrectangular (in some specimens subtrapeziform), quite long and slightly thick when seen in lateral view, tip usually emarginate (some specimens subtruncate).

LEGS: Very long and slender. Male femora 5 and 6 strongly humped ventrally in middle part.

GONOPODS (Fig. 15): Coxa (cx) longer than prefemur. Cannula (ca) long and slender. Prefemur (pfe) ca. 2/3 as long as femur. Femur (fe) long and slender. Mesal sulcus (ms) and lateral sulcus (ls) very deep and wide. Postfemur (pof) conspicuous, ventrally very wide. Solenophore (sph) well-developed: lamina lateralis (ll) swollen, surface rough; ventral lobe (vll) quite long, digitiform, directed ventrad: lamina medialis (lm) well-developed; process (plm) long, spine-like, tip emarginate - not terminating in spines (in some specimens almost blunt), directed mesoanteriad; distal lobe (dlm) distally with two distinct lamellae (mesal lamella slightly smaller than lateral one; lateral lamella thin and broad, tip directed almost in vertical plane); broad lobe (blm) thick, obviously demarcated from distal lobe (dlm) by a deep and wide indentation. Solenomere (sl) quite short.

Distribution and habitat.

Known only from the type locality and nearby areas. Desmoxytes breviverpa was collected from limestone forest, crawling on logs and litter ( Srisonchai et al. 2016). We believe it may be distributed though the central and southern parts of north Thailand. This species has been reported from Phrae, Lampang and Uttaradit Provinces. Therefore, D. breviverpa should be regarded as endemic for Thailand.

Remarks.

Specimens collected from Uttaradit Province south of the type locality showed the same morphological characters as the type specimens. No variation was found between populations although most limestone areas in north Thailand are geographically isolated by several big mountain ranges and quite far from each other.

Srisonchai et al. (2016) discussed variation of the tip of sternal lobe between male coxae 4; we found additional variation within populations as follows:

- Tip of sternal lobe in some specimens almost truncate (=subtruncate), albeit other specimens show an emarginate tip (slightly or deeply emarginate).

- Tip of hypoproct in some individuals subsemicircular, in others subtrapeziform.

- Tip of process (plm) of lamina medialis emarginate in most specimens, but almost blunt in some.

Coexisting species.

None known.

Corrections to Srisonchai et al. (2016)

Srisonchai et al. (2016, pp. 99-103) wrote in the description of this species that the paraterga (including paraterga of collum) are directed dorsolaterad. In fact they are directed caudolaterad as described above.