Prosopodesmus monteithi, Mesibov, Robert, 2012

Mesibov, Robert, 2012, New species of Prosopodesmus Silvestri, 1910 (Diplopoda, Polydesmida, Haplodesmidae) from Queensland, Australia, ZooKeys 190, pp. 33-54 : 40-41

Prosopodesmus monteithi sp. n. Figs 1B2C, 2D45C6

Holotype.

Male, 2 km SE of Mt Spurgeon via Mt Carbine, Qld, 16°27'17"S, 145°12'26"E [ ± 500 m], 1100 m, 20-21 December 1988, G. Monteith and G. Thompson, ex QM S18018, QM S91641.

Paratypes.

1 female, 1 stadium 7 male, 1 stadium 5 male, details as for holotype but 20 December 1988, berlesate 825, rainforest, sieved litter, QM S91640; 1 male, 1 female, 7 km N of Mt Spurgeon, Qld, camp 2, 16°22'31"S, 145°12'49"E [ ± 500 m], 1200 m, 17-19 October 1991, G. Monteith, H. Janetzki, D. Cook and L. Roberts, QM S91639.

Other material.

1 male, Alexandra Bay, Qld, 16°12'S, 145°26'E [ ± 2 km], <50 m, 24 June 1971, R.W. Taylor and J. Feehan, berlesate 331, rainforest, ANIC 64-000211; 1 male, 1 female, 1 stadium 7 male, Bargoo Creek, Windsor Tableland, 35 km NNW of Mt Carbine, Qld, 16°14'51"S, 145°04'08"E [ ± 500 m], 850 m, 18 April 1982, G. Monteith, D. Yeates and D. Cook, berlesate 397, rainforest, sieved litter, QM S91638; 1 male, 4.0 km W of Mt Tribulation, Qld, site 8, 16°04'44"S, 145°25'59"E [ ± 500 m], 720 m, 2 January 1983, G. Monteith, berlesate 503, rainforest, sieved litter, QM S91636; 1 male, 4.5 km W of Cape Tribulation, Qld, site 9, 16°04'41"S, 145°25'46"E [ ± 500 m], 760 m, January 1983, G. Monteith and D. Yeates, berlesate 531, rainforest, sieved litter, QM S91634; 2 males, 4 females, same details but G. Monteith, berlesate 515, QM S91635; 1 stadium 7 female, 2.5 km N of Mt Lewis via Julatten, Qld, 16°33'49"S, 145°15'51"E [ ± 500 m], 1040 m, D. Yeates and G. Thompson, berlesate 611, rainforest, sieved litter, QM S91642; 1 male, 2 females, North Bell Peak, Qld, 17°05'06"S, 145°52'00"E [ ± 500 m], 600 m, 22 November 1990, G. Monteith and G. Thompson, berlesate 845, rainforest, sieved litter, QM S91643; 1 male and 1 female in copula, 1 stadium 7 male, 1 stadium 7 female, Roaring Meg valley, Qld, 16°03'45"S, 145°25'06"E [ ± 500 m], 720 m, 22 November 1993, G. Monteith, H. Janetzki, L. Roberts and D. Cook, QM S91633; 2 males, 3 females, 1 stadium 7 male, Mt Halcyon, Qld, 16°03'16"S, 145°25'16"E [ ± 500 m], 870 m, 22-24 November 1993, G. Monteith, H. Janetzki, D. Cook and L. Roberts, QM S91632; 2 males, 2 females, 1 stadium 7 male, Mt Hemmant, Qld, 16°06'44"S, 145°24'58"E [ ± 500 m], 1050 m, 27 November 1993, G. Monteith and H. Janetzki, berlesate 865, rainforest, sieved litter, QM S91637.

Diagnosis.

Males and females with head + 20 rings; adults 14-15 mm long; midbody metatergites typically with 3 transverse rows of 10 large tubercles; posterior portion of prozonite microvillose, without small disks or microtubercles; ozopores not on porosteles; gonopod telopodite slender, curved smoothly in J-shape.

Description.

As for Prosopodesmus crater , differing in the following details:

Male/female lengths ca 14/15 mm, respectively; adults light to medium brown (Fig. 6A, 6B). Ring 12 with maximum vertical diameter 1.2 mm; maximum width (including paranota) 2.0 mm and 1.8X prozonite width. Antennomere relative widths 5>6>(2,3,4), relative lengths (2,6)>(3,4,5). Collum, tergite and metatergite tubercles polygonal, closely fitted. Posterior portion of prozonite (Figs 2C, 2D) irregularly rugose and finely microvillose, without disks or microtubercles. Posterior notch on paranota at ca 2/3 paranotal length, anterior notch sometimes indistinct; paranota declined at ca 30°.

Telopodite (Figs 4, 5C) slender, smoothly curving in J-shape; hairpad mound at about midlength; a small triangular tab directed basally near curved-over tip; tip apically slightly excavate, the lateral side extended and terminating in 3 minute, finger-like processes.

Distribution.

Rainforest from Daintree National Park west of Cape Tribulation to the Malbon Thompson Range on the coast southeast from Cairns in Queensland, a north-south range of ca 125 km (Fig. 8).

Etymology.

For Geoff Monteith, former curator of insects at the Queensland Museum. Geoff and his colleagues collected most of the specimens of the three new Prosopodesmus species described in this paper.

Remarks.

Prosopodesmus monteithi is the largest known Prosopodesmus and the striking dorsal macrosculpture is easily visible to the unaided eye (Fig. 6A). One of the Queensland Museum samples contained a mating pair (Fig. 6B) which I partially dissected (Fig. 6C). As expected, the telopodites were rotated 90° out of the gonocoxal cavity in which they normally lie. The curved distal portion of each telopodite (Fig. 5C) was fully inserted into the cavity anterior to the epigyne, but how much of the curve was actually in contact with the cyphopod could not be seen, and would be better investigated with fixed, sectioned material.