Solaenodolichopus rubriventris Verhoeff, 1928

Mesibov, Robert, 2014, The millipede genus Solaenodolichopus Verhoeff, 1924 (Diplopoda, Polydesmida, Paradoxosomatidae). 1. New genus diagnosis and redescriptions of named species, European Journal of Taxonomy 83, pp. 1-36 : 17-20

Solaenodolichopus rubriventris Verhoeff, 1928

Figs 2B , 3A–B , 8A–B, E–I

Solänodolichopus rubriventris Verhoeff, 1928: 94 (genus misspelled Solanodolichopus ), 95 (first description, name printed in error as Solandolichopus walesius , corrected in journal Corrigenda); 114 (as Solänodolichopus rubriventris in list of species described in paper); figs 24–25 in pl. 10.

Aulacoporus rubriventris – Attems 1937: 61 (new combination), 263 ( Verhoeff’s 1928 description reworded); fig. 330 (p. 265; same as fig. 24 in Verhoeff 1928). — Jeekel 1968: 18, 29; 1981: 49.

Parwalesoma rubriventris – Jeekel 2000: 41 (new combination), 43. — Nguyen & Sierwald 2013: 1158.

Material examined

Syntypes

1 male, Upper Richmond River, NSW [27°37 S, 153°00’ E, ± 10 km], Apr. 1890, R. Helms, specimen not located; 1 ♀ in alcohol with original Verhoeff label, broken between rings 11 and 12, same collection details, AM KS.76506 (formerly 47728 ); 1 female in alcohol with original Verhoeff label, broken between rings 7 and 8 and rings 11 and 12, same collection details, AM KS.76507 (formerly 47723 ); 1 female, same collection details, specimen not located.

Other material

QUEENSLAND: 4 ♂♂, Tamborine Mountain [27°58’ S, 153°11’ E, ± 5 km], 22 Oct. 1912, H. Hacker, QM S74690 ; 1 ♂, 1 ♀ in fragments, [Lamington] National Park, Macpherson Range [28°15’ S, 153°08’ E, ± 5 km], 15 Dec. 1926, P.A. Gilbert, AM KS.94916 (formerly K55468 ); 1 ♂, Eagle Heights [27°54’ S, 153°12’ E, ± 5 km], M.B. Man, 23 Mar. 1955, under logs, QM S74691 ; 1 ♂, Mt Tamborine [Tamborine Mountain] [27°58’ S, 153°11’ E, ± 5 km], pitfall 15 Jan.–4 Mar. 1979, J. Grimshaw, rainforest, QM S74692 .

Description

(Based on Mt Tamborine males and syntype females.) As for the genus. Maximum male/female midbody width ca. 5.4/6.5 mm. Colour in alcohol: “Back brownish black, without rings, only the abdomen passing into a wine red colour” ( Verhoeff 1928: 94); the least faded of the specimens examined are more or less uniformly red-brown, darker dorsally, with a pale waist and yellow legs.

Male with with distinct transverse furrow on metazonites, stopping a little above level of ozopore. No longitudinal furrows laterally on diplosegments. Sternal lamella ( Fig. 2B ) with straight sides, corners broadly rounded, distal margin a flat inverted V. Scopulae on legs 1 to 29, i.e., not present on last podous ring. Leg bases on ring 6 separated a little more than on ring 5; leg bases with normal separation on ring 8. Anterior margin of aperture with rounded-triangular, medial extension and shorter, gently convex extension on either side ( Fig. 3B ).

Gonocoxa ca. 2/3 telopodite length, slightly flattened anteroposteriorly and slightly concave anteriorly, with sparse, long setae anterodistally. Cannula short, narrow, uniformly tapering towards prefemur. Gonopod telopodite ( Fig. 8A–B, E–I ) reaching leg 6 bases when retracted. Prefemur small, rounded, densely setose posteromedially, demarcated from femorite laterally by small, narrow notch. Remainder of telopodite more or less straight, slender, clearly divided into femorite and solenomere at just over 1/2 telopodite length. Femorite straight, slightly flattened anteroposteriorly, parallel-sided in posterior view, apically thickened posteriorly as inverted triangle. Lateral femorite process small, pointed, toothlike, directed distally, ca. 1/5 solenomere length. Medial femorite process teardrop-shaped, arising near lateral process, the base expanded as thin, translucent cuticle, curving anterodistally and closely pressed to triangular apical thickening of femorite and to solenomere base, tapering to point just anterior to solenomere at ca. 1/2 solenomere length. Solenomere arising from anterior side of femorite; slightly flattened anteroposteriorly with narrow, ridge-like thickening posteromedially; anteriorly with narrow flange of cuticle arising basomedially and produced basomedially as blunt point, and at ca. 1/3 solenomere length as short, distally acuminate process; thin, spine-like process arising at ca. 1/2 solenomere length from posteromedial ridge-like thickening, directed posterodistally and a little medially; ridge-like thickening extended slightly at ca. 1/4 solenomere length and bearing several fine, tooth-like projections. Solenomere expanded from ca. 3/4 length, anteroposteriorly flattened, the apex rounded laterally, medially extended as lamellar, posteromedially directed triangle, the apical margin of triangle expanded as narrow, basodistally flattened shelf tapering towards medial apex of triangle, and finely dentate medially. Prostatic groove ( Fig. 8F ) running just lateral to flange on anterior surface of solenomere, terminating at apex of triangular apical tab.

Female without process on leg 2 coxa.

Distribution

Known from the forested mountains behind the Gold Coast in southeast Queensland south across the Border Ranges to the Richmond River catchment in NSW, a north-south extent of at least 60 km (map Fig. 12 ). Overlaps in range with S. vittatus .

Taxonomic notes

Verhoeff (1928: 96) wrote that he examined one male and three females, but I have not located either the male or a third female. With the male missing, I am reluctant to designate one of the undescribed females as lectotype. My description of male S. rubriventris is based on Verhoeff’s published notes and on the specimens listed above from Tamborine Mountain, ca. 80 km from the roughly approximated type locality (see below). The 1979 Tamborine Mountain male was identified as ‘ Atropisoma rubriventris ’ by P.M. Johns during a 1987 visit to QM.

General notes

S. rubriventris , S. sulcatus and S. walesius were among millipede specimens supplied to Verhoeff by Charles Anderson ( Verhoeff 1928: 79), Director of the Australian Museum in Sydney from 1921 to 1940. Verhoeff’s German manuscript on the material included descriptions of 21 new millipede species and subspecies. It was translated into English by Anderson for the Records of the Australian Museum and the draft translation was sent to Verhoeff for approval ( Verhoeff 1928: 79). Some typographical errors in nomenclature escaped proofreading (see synonymy above) and some morphological terms were mistranslated. For example, Anderson consistently translated hinter in the sense of ‘behind, posterior’, even when Verhoeff used hinter to mean ‘beyond, distal’ (as in English ‘hinterland’).

Although Richard Helms (1842–1914) had been working as a collector for the Australian Museum in Sydney in 1888 and 1889, he had gone to the Richmond River in 1890 “in the interest of a private syndicate” ( Hedley 1915: 13). I have not been able to find a report by Helms on the Upper Richmond River trip.According to local historian Margaret Henderson (in litt., 9 Jan. 2006), “The ‘Upper Richmond River’ usually refers to the area from Casino to the source in the ranges”. I place the collections very approximately at Kyogle, about halfway between Casino and the Border Ranges and ca. 30 km upstream from Casino.

Figures

Fig. 2. Posterior views of sternal lamella in ♂♂. — A. Solaenodolichopus pruvoti (Brolemann, 1931), QM S74856. — B. S. rubriventris Verhoeff, 1928, QM S74690. — C. S. sulcatus (Verhoeff, 1928), lectotype, AM KS.76503. — D. S. teres (Verhoeff, 1924), lectotype in alcohol, ZSM A20052188. — E. S. vittatus (Verhoeff, 1924), QM S74829. — F. S. walesius Verhoeff, 1928, lectotype, AM KS.76508. Scale bars: 0.5 mm.

Fig. 3. — A–B. Solaenodolichopus rubriventris Verhoeff, 1928, ♂, QM S74690. A. Right ventrolateral view of ring 7 showing swelling (arrow) just anterolateral to aperture. B. Ventral view of aperture showing gently convex extensions (arrows) on either side of medial extension on anterior margin of aperture. — C. S. walesius Verhoeff, 1928, ♀, AM KS.16152, posteroventral view of epigyne showing raised end (arrow). — D. S. teres (Verhoeff, 1924), paralectotype ♀, NHRS KAS1000000007, left ventrolateral view of anterior rings showing distolateral process on leg 2 coxa (arrow) just medial to raised end of epigyne. Scale bars: 1 mm.

Fig. 8. — A–B, E–I. Solaenodolichopus rubriventris Verhoeff, 1928. Lateral (A) and posterior (B) views of gonopods in situ; left gonopod solenomere in lateral (E), anterior (F), medial (G), medial and slightly posterior (H) and posterior (I) views. A, B, E, F, G, I from QM S74690, H from fig. 24 in Verhoeff (1928). Dotted line in F marks course of prostatic groove. — C–D. S. teres (Verhoeff, 1924), anterior views of right gonopod telopodite of lectotype, from slide mount NHRS KAS1000000005 (C) and from fig. 7 in Verhoeff (1924) (D). Scale bars: A–B = 2 mm, C–I = 1 mm.

Fig. 12. Localities for named Solaenodolichopus species as of February 2014. — A. Australia showing location of map B (rectangle). — B. S. teres (Verhoeff, 1924) (star), S. sulcatus (Verhoeff, 1928) (crosses) and S. walesius Verhoeff, 1928 (open triangles), other species (filled squares); rectangle shows location of map C. — C. S. pruvoti (Brolemann, 1931) (open squares), S. rubriventris Verhoeff, 1928 (crosses) and S. vittatus (Verhoeff, 1924) (open triangles). Maps A–C are geographic projections; approximate north-south map extents are 900 km for B and 220 km for C.