Riotintobolus minutus Wesener &amp; Enghoff &amp; Sierwald 2009, sp. n.
Creators: name: Wesener, Thomas
name: Enghoff, Henrik
name: Sierwald, Petra
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2009
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Diplopoda
Spirobolida
Pachybolidae
Riotintobolus

description: <i>Riotintobolus minutus</i> Wesener, sp. n. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 69657A54-E55E-4B78-BD6A-C14D398BC1F6 <b>Material examined:</b> 1 &amp;male;, 2 &amp;female;, 2 imm. <i>Holotype:</i> 1 &amp;male; (22 mm long), FMMC, Province Toliara, Sainte Luce, S 9, littoral forest on sand, in leaf litter (deep), 24°47’ S, 47°10’ E, leg. T. Wesener, 06.IV.2003. <i>Paratypes:</i> 1 &amp;female;, 2 imm., FMMC, same data as holotype; 1 &amp;female;, FMMC W031 B, Sainte Luce, S 9, in leaf litter with roots, 24°46.769’ S, 47°10.288’ E, 12 m, littoral forest on sand, leg. Wesener et al., 01.VI.2007. <b>Differential diagnosis:</b> <i>R. minutus</i> is the smallest known species of the genus and with a body length in mature males of only 22 mm, one of the smallest Spirobolida species known from Madagascar. The pitch-black colour with a thick dorsal red stripe (Fig. 27A) helps to clearly identify this species. The gonopods of this species are in some aspects similar to those of <i>R. mandenensis</i> and <i>R. anomalus</i> sp. n. <b>Description.</b> <i>Measurements</i>: male holotype with 38 podous and 2 apodous rings, 22 mm long, 2.3 mm wide. Females with 39–41 podous and 0–2 apodous body rings, 23–26 mm long, 2.9 mm wide. <i>Coloration</i> pitch-black, dorsally with an extraordinary wide, red stripe (Fig. 27A). Openings of ozopores highlighted by a red spot (Fig. 27B). Posterior half of collum dorsally black (Fig. 27E). Head, lateral part of anal valves and subanal scale red, legs whitish brown (Fig.40B). <i>Eyes</i> with 12–14 partly fused ocelli arranged in three rows (Fig. 27E). <i>Antennae</i> protruding back to body ring 2 (Fig. 27B). <i>Legs</i> lacking tarsal pads. Male legs reach 0.7 times, female legs 0.5 times, body diameter (Fig. 27D). <i>Preanal process</i> sharp-edged, but not protruding above anal valves (Fig. 27G). Anal valves small, at midanterior part with a deep groove. Margin of lip towards groove sharp-edged (Fig. 27G). <i>Anterior gonopod</i> sternite apically elevated into a wide lobe with a triangular, wellrounded tip (Fig. 27H). Sternite tip almost as high as mesal coxite process, which is relatively slender but longer than sternite (Fig. 27H). Telopodite on posterior side apically with a large triangular, retrorse process (Fig. 27J), which is projecting above coxite and telopodite margins (Fig. 27J). <i>Posterior gonopods</i> telopodite laterally with two large, finger-shaped processes (Fig. 27I). Sperm canal discharging at more apical process. Apically, a large membrane present, extending into two lobes, apically twice as wide as basally (Fig. 27K). <b>Intraspecific variation:</b> females with 39+2 and 41+0 body rings are known, indicating post-mature moults. <b>Distribution and ecology</b> : this species was only collected in the isolated littoral rainforest on sand in Sainte Luce (Fig. 25). Only circa 200 ha of this forest will remain after a large scale mining project (Vincelette et al. 2003, Bollen and Donati 2006). Although officially protected, large scale wood removal and even slash-and-burn agriculture (Fig. 24C) is still ongoing in this forest (own observations in March 2003 and June 2007). The surrounding pseudosteppe is regularly burned, further endangering this forest (Fig. 24B). However, further searches should be conducted in small remaining coastal forests north of Sainte Luce, where this species could also occur. All specimens were found deep in the soil under the wet leaf litter. Disturbed specimens often did not curl into a spiral, but remained motionless and stiff like a stick even when picked up. The giant pill-millipede species <i>Sphaeromimus splendidus</i> Wesener &amp; Sierwald, 2005 and a still undescribed <i>Zoosphaerium</i> species are currently also only known from the littoral forest of Sainte Luce (Wesener and Sierwald 2005, Wesener and Wägele 2008). <b>Etymology:</b> <i>minutus</i>, adjective, refers to the small size of this species.
description: Published as part of <i>Wesener, Thomas, Enghoff, Henrik &amp; Sierwald, Petra, 2009, Review of the Spirobolida on Madagascar, with descriptions of twelve new genera, including three genera of ' fire millipedes' (Diplopoda), pp. 1-128 in ZooKeys 19 (19)</i> on pages 52-53, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.19.221, http://zenodo.org/record/576503
description: {"references": ["Vincelette M, Randrihasipara L, Ramanamanjato J-B, Lowry (II) PP, Ganzhorn JU (2003) Mining and environmental conservation: The case of QIT Madagascar Minerals in the Southeast. In: Goodman SM, Benstead JP (Eds) The Natural History of Madagascar. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp. 1535 - 1537.", "Bollen A, Donati G (2006) Conservation status of the littoral forest of south-eastern Madagascar: a review. Oryx 40 (1): 57 - 66.", "Wesener T, Sierwald P (2005) The giant pill-millipedes of Madagascar: Revision of the genus Sphaeromimus, with a review of the morphological terminology (Diplopoda, Sphaerotheriida, Sphaerotheriidae). Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 56 (29): 557 - 599. [http: // research. calacademy. org / research / scipubs / pdfs / v 56 / proccas _ v 56 _ n 29. pdf]", "Wesener T, Wagele J-W (2008) The giant pill-millipedes of Madagascar: revision of the genus Zoosphaerium (Myriapoda, Diplopoda, Sphaerotheriida). Zoosystema 30 (1): 1 - 85. [http: // www. mnhn. fr / museum / front / medias / publication / 13338 _ z 08 n 1 a 1. pdf]"]}