Iraniulus fagorum (Attems, 1951)

Vagalinski, Boyan & Golovatch, Sergei I., 2021, The millipede tribe Brachyiulini in the Caucasus (Diplopoda, Julida, Julidae), ZooKeys 1058, pp. 1-127 : 1

Iraniulus fagorum (Attems, 1951)

Figs 7 , 8

Chromatoiulus (Iraniulus) fagorum Attems, 1951: 421-422, figs 39-41.

Chromatoiulus fagorum : Bababekova 1969: 22; 1996: 90; Rakhmanov 1972: 116; Samedov et al. 1972: 1245; Rasulova and Rakhmanov 1973: 519.

Megaphyllum loeffleri : Golovatch 1983 (lapsus calami): 166.

Megaphyllum fagorum : Enghoff and Moravvej 2005: 66.

Iraniulus fagorum : Vagalinski and Lazányi 2018: 78-80, figs 156-160.

Material examined.

Azerbaijan: 1 ♀ (SMNG), Lerik District, Hyrcan Nature Reserve , road Lǝnkǝran-Lerik at km 322, 38.7638°N, 48.5819°E, 400 m a.s.l., small valley, forest of Parrotia with some Quercus , in thick litter, 26.III.2015, D. Antić and H. Reip leg. ; 2 ♂♂, 4 ♀♀, 8 juv. (ZMUM), Lankaran, Istisu W of Astara, forest, 29.VII.1974 , SIG leg.; 6 ♂♂, 5 ♀♀, 2 juv. (ZMUM), Istisu , ca. 8 km SW of Masallı, Quercus , Acer , Carpinus etc., 80-140 m, in litter, under bark and stones, 19-20.X.1983 , SIG leg.; 2 ♂♂ (ZMUM), Yardımlı, Avash , 1200-1500 m, 14-17.VI.1996 , SIG leg.; 1 ♂, 2 ♀♀ (ZMUM), Astara, Istisu , W of Astara, 100 m, 2- 6.VI.1996, W. Schawaller leg. ; many ♂♂, ♀♀, juv. (ZMUM), ca. 6 km WSW of Astara, Quercus , Acer , Carpinus , etc., 10-30 m, in litter and under bark, 18.III.1983 , SIG leg.; 1 ♂, 1 ♀, 2 juv. (ZMUM), Lankaran, Alekseevka ( Avrora ), 24.VII.1974 , SIG leg.

Diagnosis.

A species of Iraniulus differing from its only known congener, I. tricornis sp. nov., by a larger body (males> 25 mm long and higher than 1.7 mm, females> 30 mm long and ca. 2.5 mm high, vs. males <20 mm long and ca. 1 mm high, females <25 mm long and ca. 1.5 mm high in I. tricornis sp. nov.), by having a proportionately longer, more slender opisthomere, and by certain details of solenomere structure: directed completely distad, with a larger basocaudal process, and with an apical part ending in two short rounded branches of equal size on the mesal side, and one slender sigmoid branch on the lateral side, vs. the same turned somewhat caudad in I. tricornis sp. nov., with a proportionately smaller basocaudal process, and with an apical part bearing three sharply pointed branches of equal size.

Descriptive notes.

Gonopods: Promere (Fig. 7A ) as high as opisthomere, broadest at base, significantly narrowing distad; apex narrow; apicomesal process similar to that in I. tricornis sp. nov., but longer; flagellum just slightly longer than height of promere. Opisthomere (Fig. 7B-E ) relatively slender; anterior process tapering, straight; basoposterior process with its apical outgrowth protruding at nearly 90° to CBO, bent slightly apicad; a small lobe distolaterally; mesal side with a narrow, slender lobe (presumably gonocoxal gland) and a rather narrow anteromesal sinus; with a row of sparse spiniform filaments along flagellum channel; solenomere consisting of a tapering basomesal process, a broadly rounded basocaudal process, and an apical part ending in three minute branches: two rounded mesal ones, and a sigmoid lateral one. Vulva (Fig. 8 ) mostly corresponding to the description and drawing given in Vagalinski and Lazányi (2018) except for the opening, which is not large as claimed by these authors, but is in fact minute, hidden between the large bursal hyaline protrusions.

General distribution.

Iran, Lahijan (type locality); Azerbaijan, Lenkoran [Lankaran] ( Samedov et al. 1972). Apparently, a Hyrcanian endemic.

Remarks.

Iraniulus fagorum can easily be recognised in the field by both its greyish green colouration and its specific, strong odour (Dragan Antić, pers. comm.). The latter is the result of the large proportion of p-cresol (> 90%) in its defensive secretion. This compound is known to be produced by only a few species of Julidae , while it is typical of the order Callipodida ( Bodner et al. 2016). Interestingly, p-cresol may be a major compound in the secretions of another two julids inhabiting the Caucasus, namely, Pachyiulus krivolutskyi Golovatch, 1977 from Colchis and Syrioiulus continentalis (Attems, 1903) from Hyrcania, both species showing a similar bright yellow-greyish colouration reminiscent of the green tinges in I. fagorum ( Evsyukov et al. 2021).

Figures

Figure 7. Iraniulus fagorum (Attems, 1951), gonopods of ♂ from near Astara, Azerbaijan (ZMUM) A left promere, caudal view B right opisthomere (with flagellum in its channel), mesal view C left opisthomere, oral-lateral view D apical part of right opisthomere, mesal view E apical part of left opisthomere, oral-lateral view. Scale bars: 0.1 mm (A-C), 0.05 mm (D, E). Abbreviations: amp apicomesal process, ao apical outgrowth of basoposterior process, ap anterior process, aps apical part of solenomere, bpp basoposterior process, cps basocaudal process of solenomere, f flagellum, fc flagellum channel, g (supposed) gonocoxal gland, lp lateral lobe, mg median groove, mps basomesal process of solenomere, mr median ridge, s solenomere, sf spiniform filaments, si anteromesal sinus.

Figure 8. Iraniulus fagorum (Attems, 1951), ♀ from E of Lerik, Azerbaijan (SMNG) right vulva A caudo-lateral B meso-caudal view. Scale bars: 0.1 mm. Abbreviations: hp hyaline protrusions, op operculum. Pictures by courtesy of Karin Voigtlaender, Hans Reip and Dragan Antic.