Lissodesmus clivulus Mesibov 2005, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Mesibov, Robert
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2005
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Diplopoda
Polydesmida
Dalodesmidae
Lissodesmus
Lissodesmus clivulus

description: Lissodesmus clivulus sp. nov.
Figures 23, 24, 69 cli, 70cli, 71cli, 73 (map)
Material examined. Holotype. Male, Australia, Tasmania. The Clump, CQ213361 (41°12'23''S 144°52'06''E), 190 m, 6.ii.1992, R. Mesibov, QVM 23:45821 (ex QVM 23:17667).
Paratypes. 2 males, details as for holotype, AM KS91170 (ex QVM 23:17667); 11 males, details as for holotype, QVM 23:17667, 3 dissected; 16 females, details as for holotype, QVM 23: 17675; male, south of Italian River, CQ180045 (41°29'25''S 144°49'11''E), 10 m, 30.iv.1993, R. Mesibov, QVM 23:17664.
Other material. 12 males, 26 females and 1 juvenile from Balfour, Brooks Creek, Dawson River, Little Eel Creek, Mt Frankland, Possum Creek, Sardine Creek, Sawards Creek, Sundown Creek, Sundown Point, Temma and The Clump (see “ Lissodesmus supplement” for details).
Description. Male c. 17 mm long, H = 1.6 mm. In alcohol, well-coloured specimens under low magnification with light brown body colour (unusually, extending to legs and antennae), slightly darker brown transversely on metatergites near posterior margins and distally on antennae. Antenna long, slender (Fig. 69 cli). Paranota reduced but prominent, R = 1.4 (Fig. 70 cli); posterior corners not turned up. Legs long, slender, tarsus about as long as femur (Fig. 71 cli). Telopodite (Figs 23, 24) almost reaching leg 5 when retracted. Solenomere arising at half the telopodite height, directed posteriorly at a large angle (c. 60°) to telopodite axis, curving slightly laterally, terminating with toothed subapical collar at about one-quarter the prefemoral process height. Tibiotarsus about as wide as solenomere, slightly flattened and tapered near tip, directed posteriorly at almost a right angle to telopodite, curving slightly distally near tip. Femoral process arising at level of solenomere origin, a straight, distally directed blade with a pointed tip, terminating well distal to solenomere tip; at one-quarter to one-third its length with a short, narrow, bluntly tipped branch directed posteriorly and curving distally near its tip. Prefemoral process about half the width of the telopodite base at its origin, expanded past this point, narrowing near apex and bending posteriorly, a few short, large, rounded, proximally directed teeth subapically, the apex flattened and slightly crenulate. Two inconspicuous unci at about half the length of the prefemoral process, not obvious in some specimens.
Distribution and habitat. Known from c. 300 km 2 on the west coast of Tasmania (Fig. 73), from just north of the Arthur River to just south of the Italian River, inland to Mt Frankland, and from sea level to 400 m. Despite its small range, L. clivulus is sometimes locally abundant. It occurs in wet forest, coastal woodland, tea-tree forest and tea-tree scrub, and (unusually for Lissodesmus species) has also been found in low heath (on Mt Frankland, near Balfour).
Etymology. Latin clivulus (“small hill”), noun in apposition. Named for the type locality, The Clump, a low hill covered with a clump of tall eucalypt trees. Because the surrounding country is flat and heathy, The Clump has long been a landmark on the northern part of the Tasmanian west coast.
Remarks. L. clivulus is similar to L. latus in gonopod structure but the prefemoral process is shorter, the prefemoral process tip less expanded and the tibiotarsus bent posteriorly at nearly a right angle to the telopodite. The two species co-occur along the coast between the Arthur and Pieman Rivers, and can be distinguished in the field by coloration and by the smoother paranotal margin in L. clivulus.
description: Published as part of Mesibov, Robert, 2005, The millipede genus Lissodesmus Chamberlin, 1920 (Diplopoda: Polydesmida: Dalodesmidae) from Tasmania and Victoria, with descriptions of a new genus and 24 new species, pp. 103-146 in Memoirs of Museum Victoria 62 (2) on page 112, DOI: 10.24199/j.mmv.2005.62.4, http://zenodo.org/record/8064747