Xystopyge proplicatus Frederiksen & Enghoff, 2012, n. sp.
Creators: name: Frederiksen, Sara B.
name: Enghoff, Henrik
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2012
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Diplopoda
Spirostreptida
Odontopygidae
Xystopyge
Xystopyge proplicatus

description: Xystopyge proplicatus n. sp.
Fig. 8, 12.
Material: Holotype male: Tanzania, Uluguru mts., Kimboza Forest, 250 m. 18/VII/1981, M. Stoltze and N. Scharff leg. (ZMUC 00020498).
Diagnosis: Has a very large proplica and notably smaller metaplica. Deviates from all other Xystopyge species by the tip of the solenomere, which is lamellate resembling the blade of a knife with two spines situated together: one lamellate and one darkly sclerotized. Also tip of telomere with a small serration at one side ending in a dark sclerotized spine distally.
Etymology: The name is an adjective referring to the very large gonopodal proplica.
Description:
Body length 53 mm, diameter 3.8 mm, 58 podous body rings, no apodous rings in front of telson.
Coloration (after ca. 30 years in alcohol): Completely yellow, but colour pattern otherwise the same as X. pelecys; darker yellow band between the eyes, lighter yellow spots between the antennae. Body light and dark yellow banded. Telson light yellow.
Head and body: 1+5+1 supralabral setae and 5 horizontal rows of ocelli. Head and body otherwise as described for X. pelecys. Anal valves clearly with 2 setae each.
Gonopods (Figs. 8, 12): Anterior sternum (st) as in X. corolla; short and broad, square, possibly very slightly indented.—Coxa: Proplica (pp) very large, elongate, projecting distally about as far as the spinelike, medially situated distad apical metaplical process (amp). Median metaplical process (mmp) large rounded-triangular with a distad lobe, folded around in the same manner as the small insignificant mesal metaplical flange (mmf).— Telopodite: basomere with extended torsotope and no spines. Solenomere with a dark sclerotized spine basally (bss), a small triangular lamella mesally (msl), and ending in a pointed knife-shaped lamella, with two spines situated together apically, one long and lamellate (ass1), the other shorter and dark sclerotized (ass2). Telomere with basal lamella (btl) ending distally in a dark sclerotized spine (bts), ribbon-shaped with two large lamellae at each side starting medially. Medially a triangular lamella (mtl). Tip of telomere square with a serration at one side ending in a dark sclerotized spine distally (dts). Telomere making a one-and-a-half loop. Posterior sternum not preserved.
Remarks: Anterior sternum seems identical to X. corolla, but X. longibifida rembles closely as well. Gonopods very similar to X. longibifida, but very s mall differences in the shape of the processes of coxa, such as the apical metaplical process notably smaller than in X. longibifida where it seems to overreach the apex of the proplica (Vandenspiegel & Pierrard 2004: “sommet externe en deux courtes lames de direction apicale”). A clear difference, however, is the tip of solenomere: simply bicuspid in X. longibifida; lamellate in X. proplicatus resembling the blade of a knife with two spines situated together—one lamellate, one dark sclerotized. It is also worth noting that X. proplicatus has 1+5+1 supralabral setae which appears to be unique amongst Xystopyge species, however since only one specimen of this species is known it cannot be confirmed whether it truly is a unique feature for this species or just for this specimen.
description: Published as part of Frederiksen, Sara B. & Enghoff, Henrik, 2012, East African odontopygid millipedes 1: Five new species of Xystopyge (Attems, 1909) and a proposal for a new gonopod terminology (Diplopoda; Spirostreptida; Odontopygidae), pp. 69-82 in Zootaxa 3485 on page 77, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.212354