Madagascarhinus andasibensis Wesener 2023
Creators: name: Wesener, Thomas
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Diplopoda
Siphonophorida
Siphonorhinidae
Madagascarhinus
Madagascarhinus andasibensis

description: Madagascarhinus andasibensis
Figures 1B–D, 4–7
Diagnosis: Long, slender, whitish-beige siphonorhinid without paranota. Up to 11 mm long with 63 tergites. Antennomere 2 as long as 3 and 4 combined, antennomere 6 only slightly longer than and as wide as antennomere 5. Sensilla basiconica on antennomere 5 and 6 located in a field, not a separated pit. Differs from M. madagascariensis n. sp. in the narrower head (wider than long in M. madagascariensis n. sp., longer than wide in M. andasibensis n. sp.), the presence of a shorter lower branch of the claw at the anterior legs, reaching 1/3 of the length of the claw (2/3 of the claw in M. madagascariensis n. sp.) at leg 1 and being shorter than the claw in leg 2, in the anterior and posterior gonopods possessing six podomeres (seven in M. madagascariensis n. sp.), and the last podomere of the anterior gonopod being much more strongly elongated than in M. madagascariensis n. sp.
Etymology: New species is named after Andasibe, close to the type locality. Adjective.
Material examined: Holotype: ♁, ZFMK MYR12218, Madagascar, District Moramanga, Andasibe (Perinet), Analamazaotra Forest Station, 18°55’38.66”S, 48°24’19.42”E, 963 m, secondary forest, sifted leaf litter, leg. L. Spelzhausen and G. Rakotonirina, iv.2017.
Paratypes: 1 ♀, MZUF Fi-19E, Madagascar, Reserve de Perinet [Andasibe], foresta pluviale, 29.v.1991, legit L. Bartolozzi, S. Taiti, C. Raharimana (n. Mag. 1107).
Description:
Measurements: holotype male with 63+1 tergites, ~ 12 mm long, 0.5 mm wide. Colour whitish (Figs 1B–D). Paratype female 61+1 tergites, ~ 12 mm long, 0.5 mm wide. Colour light brownish.
Head: pear shaped (Fig. 1C), densely setose, slightly longer than wide (Fig. 4A–C). Gnathochilarium consisting of well distinguishable plates: mentum, stipes, lamellae linguales and a pair of lateral palpi origination from the stipes (Fig. 4G, H). Rudimentary palps as wide as lamellae linguales, with 4–6 sensorial cones (Fig. 4H). Lamellae linguales towards one another with a sclerotized ledge, separated by a short gap (Fig. 4H). Antennae elbowed between antennomeres 3 and 4, antennomere 2 elongated, narrower than other antennomeres, as long as 3 and 4 combined (Fig. 4C, D). Antennomere 6 cylindrical, slightly longer but as wide as 5th. Antennomeres 5 and 6 latero-apically with rows of sensilla basiconica, 2 rows on 5th and 3 rows on 6th (Fig. 4D). Disc with four apical cones standing in a single field, a field of 4–6 sensilla basiconica as well as numerous isolated spiniform sensillae (Fig. 4E).
Body-rings: collum slightly longer than following tergites, not overlapping head (Fig. 4A). Body rings clearly separated into tergite, two pleurites and two sternites. Tergites without paranota, ozopore located halfway between ventral and dorsal side, relatively close to the posterior margin, surrounded by a single dense row of setae (Fig. 5A–C). Prozonites covered with scales, metazonites covered by long setae as well as large, well-rounded or spiny sclerotized spines. Pleurites separated into prozonite and metazonite, covered with scales like the prozonite of the tergite (Fig. 5D). Sternite glabrous but covered with strong scales like the pleurites, paired stigma openings covered by a plate.
Legs: first leg pair longer and slightly thickened compared to following legs. Triangular coxa fused to sternite, apical spine reaching 1/3 of length of claw. Second leg pair with apical spine protruding up to 2/3 of length of claw. First two leg pairs without trochanter or coxal pores, both trochanter and coxal pores starting at leg pair 3. Apical claw getting successively shorter in more posterior legs. Midbody leg (Fig. 5E) with elongated femur, 1.1 times longer than wide, slightly longer than prefemur. Each podomere at mesal margin with several long setae. Tarsus slender, apically tapering, 4 times longer than wide.
Telson: densely setose like tergites. Preanal scale shape inconspicuous, anal valves well-developed, subanal scale small (Fig. 6A–D).
Male sexual characters: gonopore an inconspicuous hole with slightly projecting membranous part.
Anterior gonopod sternite without any processes, inconspicuous (Fig. 7B). Anterior gonopod consisting of 6 podomeres (Fig. 7A), 1–5 being cylindrical, each carrying isolated setae (Fig. 7A–D). Podomere 6 massively elongated, as long as basal podomeres 1–5 combined, apically tapering, curved laterally, forming a protection sheath for the posterior gonopod. Apico-posterior edge with 5–8 long setae.
Posterior gonopod sternite inconspicuous with pair of setae (Fig. 7C). Posterior gonopod consisting of 6 podomeres, 1–5 cylindrical. Podomere 6 with three processes, two of them long processes of equal length, being as long as podomeres 1–5 combined (Fig. 7A–D). In ventral (posterior) view with a third, setae-like process at mid-length, protruding up to half length of longer processes. Longer processes forming a wide but thin, spoon-like end.
Remarks: The holotype was collected as part of an ecological study (Spelzhausen et al. 2020). In the same sampling plot, Oxidus gracilis (Koch, 1847), Flagellobolus pauliani Wesener, in Wesener et al., 2009 and a species of Iulomorpha Porat, 1872 were found. The paratype comes from the collections of the MZUF (Wesener & Anilkumar 2020), the same sample included Zoosphaerium neptunus (Butler, 1872), an unknown small Polydesmida species, a medium-sized immature Spirostreptidae, and four specimens of the Spirobolida species Hylekobolus andasibensis Wesener, in Wesener et al., 2009.
description: Published as part of Wesener, Thomas, 2023, Madagascarhinus, a new genus of the family Siphonorhinidae with two new species from Madagascar (Diplopoda, Siphonophorida), pp. 163-175 in Zootaxa 5278 (1) on pages 169-172, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5278.1.9, http://zenodo.org/record/7895182