Hylekobolus brachiosauroides 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
Spirobolellidae
Hylekobolus

description: <i>Hylekobolus brachiosauroides</i> Wesener, sp. n. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 40FD10B2-63FB-4627-AAAC-6961BE9102E5 <b>Material examined:</b> 26 &amp;male;, 21 &amp;female;, 6 imm. <i>Holotype:</i> 1 &amp;male; (55 mm long), FMMC W089, Vohimena Mountains, West slope, Ivorona, 114 m, rainforest, 24°50.026’ S, 46°56.943’ E, leg. Wesener et al., 23.V.2007. <i>Paratypes:</i> 3 &amp;male;, 4 &amp;female;, FMMC W089, same data as holotype; 1 &amp;male;, 1 &amp;female;, ZMUC W089, same data as holotype; 1 &amp;male;, ZMH W089, same data as holotype; 1 &amp;male;, 1 &amp;female;, CAS W089, same data as holotype; 1 &amp;male;, ZSM W089, same data as holotype. <b>Other material examined:</b> 4 &amp;male;, 4 &amp;female;, W089, same data as holotype, voucher specimens deposited at the University Antananarivo; 5 &amp;male;, 4 &amp;female;, 2 imm., FMMC W049 B, Andohahela, Isaka-Ivondro Sud, 46 m, rainforest, 24°49.690’ S, 46°51.971’ E, leg. Wesener et al., 08.VI.2007; 5 &amp;male;, 4 &amp;female;, 2 imm., W049B, same data as previous, voucher specimens deposited at the University Antananarivo; 2 &amp;male;, 2 &amp;female;, FMMC W099, Ambatotsirongorongo Mountain, Grand Lavasoa, rainforest, 25°5’10.23” S, 46°44’55.93” E, rainforest, leg. Wesener et al., 14.VI.2007; 2 &amp;male;, 1 &amp;female;, 2 imm., W099, same data as previous, voucher specimens deposited at the University Antananarivo. <b>Differential diagnosis:</b> <i>H. brachiosauroides</i> differs in size and colour from the sympatric living <i>H. albicollaris</i> sp. n. The posterior gonopods (Figs 55M, O) of <i>H. brachiosauroides</i> differ from other, same-sized <i>Hylekobolus</i> species: the lateral margin carries a thick, swollen, well-rounded projection (Fig. 55M), a feature only shared with <i>H. montanus</i> sp. n. <i>H. brachiosauroides</i> differs from <i>H. montanus</i> sp. n. in the presence of a protruding apical process (<i>x</i>) on the posterior gonopods, a weakly protruding lateral retrorse process of the anterior gonopod (Fig. 55N), and a different colour pattern. <b>Description.</b> <i>Measurements</i>: males with 50 or 51 rings, 53–62 mm long, 4.8–5.2 mm wide. Females with 50 or 51 rings, 58–72 mm long, 5.1–6.0 mm wide. <i>Coloration:</i> anterior part of head and collum, posterior part of telson and posterior margin of body rings lightly red or white (Figs 53A, 55A, C). Legs and antennae white (Fig. 53A). Anterior part of body rings, telson, posterior part of head and collum black (Figs 53A, 55A). <i>Eyes</i> with 40–44 ocelli (Fig. 55D). <i>Anterior gonopod</i> sternite basally wide, apically elevated into a triangular lobe with a triangular, wide, well-rounded tip (Fig. 55L). Mesal process of coxite wide and only slightly protruding (Fig. 55L). Apical process of telopodite large and well-rounded. Retrorse margin wide, not projecting above telopodite margin (Fig. 55N). Margin of apical process basally wide and projecting (Fig. 55N). <i>Posterior gonopods</i> telopodite bent 90° (Fig. 55O). Lateral margin with a thick, swollen, well-rounded projection (<i>w</i>, Fig. 55M). Apical process (<i>x</i>) apically slender, basally with a widely protruding margin (Fig. 55M). Membranous lobe (<i>y</i>) rectangular (Fig. 55M). Projection of sperm canal (<i>z</i>) long and slender, slightly curved towards apical process (Fig. 55M). <b>Intraspecific variation:</b> coloration of the posterior margin of body ring varies in adults between white and reddish, while it is always white in imm.. <b>Distribution and ecology</b> : this species was found in the isolated Ambatotsirongorongo Mountain, the Andohahela Isaka-Ivondro corridor as well as on the western slopes of the Vohimena Mountain (Fig. 54). <i>H. brachiosauroides</i> could not be collected north of the Isaka-Ivondro corridor, where <i>H. goodmani</i> sp. n. and <i>H. montanus</i> sp. n. occur. In the eastern Vohimena slopes, <i>H. rufus</i> sp. n. replaces <i>H. brachiosauroides</i>. All individuals were collected inside dead logs. <b>Etymology:</b> <i>brachiosauroides</i>, adjective, refers to the dinosaur genus <i>Brachiosaurus</i>, whose neck and head closely resemble the general shape of the posterior gonopods of this millipede.
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 102-104, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.19.221, http://zenodo.org/record/576503