Tiphallus Chamberlin, 1952

Shelley, Rowland M., Espino, Ancelmo Orona & Robles, Miguel Ángel Gallegos, 2015, A contribution on the Middle American milliped family Rhachodesmidae (Polydesmida: Leptodesmidea: Rhachodesmoidea): description of Tiphallus torreon n. sp., the first species from Coahuila, Mexico; first records from Belize; and depiction of the (super) familial distribution, Insecta Mundi 2015 (423), pp. 1-10 : 3-4

Genus Tiphallus Chamberlin, 1952

Tiphallus Chamberlin 1952: 566 . Loomis 1968: 42. Jeekel 1971: 290. Causey 1973: 116. Hoffman 1980: 165.

Type-species. Tiphallus aberrans Chamberlin 1952 , by original designation.

Diagnosis. Gonopodal telopodite without unequivocal separation between prefemur and acropodite, soleniferous element reduced to vestigial, basal remnant closely appressed to medial prefemoral surface and angling anteriad from fossa; acropodite a broad, nondescript, irregularly lobate structure with few if any projections or distinctive features.

Components. Four species: T. aberrans Chamberlin 1952 , T. alberti Causey 1973 , T. frivolus Causey 1973 , T. torreon new species.

Distribution. Four states in northeastern Mexico: Coahuila, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, and San Luis Potosi.

Remarks. Tiphallus and its species were omitted from Hoffman (1999). Only two true taxonomic usages exist ( Chamberlin 1952, Causey 1973), so the published literature provides little insight into the genus. Lacking a short synopsis of even one established rhachodesmid genus, we can only cite aspects of these works plus features that we consider potentially diagnostic.