Endogeophilus alberti Iorio & Bonato, 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Iorio, Étienne
name: Bonato, Lucio
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Chilopoda
Geophilomorpha
Geophilidae
Endogeophilus
Endogeophilus alberti

description: Endogeophilus alberti sp. nov.
Type specimen.
Holotype (Figs 2, 3): • ♀, 31. III. 2023, É. Iorio leg. In ethanol. Body in four pieces: head, maxillae, mandibles, and trunk. Original label: Cavalaire-sur-Mer (Var), Malatra, “ MALAT 3 ”, 43.1795 ° N, 6.5068 ° E (WGS 84), 31. III. 2023, É. Iorio leg. Deposited in the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris (Chilopoda collection, number M 370).
Type locality.
France: Var department: Cavalaire-sur-Mer: near Malatra: 43.1795 ° N, 6.5068 ° E (WGS 84), 215 m a. s. l., north-eastern slope (Fig. 1).
Diagnosis.
An Endogeophilus species with claw of the second maxillae slender and hooked at its tip; forcipular trochanteroprefemur ~ 1.1 × as long as wide; forcipular tarsungulum> 2.0 × as long as wide, almost as long as the trochanteroprefemur, distinctly curved, fairly slender, and gradually narrowing. See also Table 1, Figs 2 – 4, and Discussion.
Description of the holotype
(Figs 2, 3). General features. Body remarkably slender, 24.5 mm long, uniformly ~ 0.3 mm wide for most part of the trunk, only very slightly narrowing anteriorly along ~ 20 most anterior leg-bearing segments and backwards along approximately the five most posterior leg-bearing segments. Legs relatively short. Colour almost uniformly pale yellow, only the forcipules and the head slightly darker, both pale orange.
Cephalic capsule and antennae. Head 0.4 mm long, sub-rectangular, 1.15 × longer than wide (Fig. 3 A); the anterior margin slightly angulated with a small medial notch. Transverse suture absent. Approximately 40 setae on the head, the majority being short except those of the lateral margins, longer, reaching up to ~ 22 μm. Clypeus uniformly areolate, without clypeal areas and without plagulae, with six setae, arranged in a longitudinal series of three pairs on the anterior median part of the clypeus. Pleurites uniformly areolate, with some setae. Labrum composed of an intermediate part narrow and almost negligible, having one tubercle (Fig. 2 A); side pieces not clearly distinct from the intermediate part of labrum, each with four bristles. Antennae with 14 articles, 1.3 mm long, 3.2 × longer than the head (Fig. 3 B). article I ~ 0.7 × longer than wide, articles II – VII up to 1.7 × longer than wide, article VIII ~ 1.2 × longer than wide, articles IX – XIII approximately as long as wide; setae gradually denser and shorter from basal to distal articles, both ventrally and dorsally. Article XIV 2.0 × longer than wide, with numerous setae and with club-like sensilla grouped on the distal parts of both internal and external sides (Fig. 3 C).
Mandibles and maxillae. A single pectinate lamella on each mandible. Coxosternite of the first maxillae entire, without mid-longitudinal sulcus. Coxal projection sub-triangular, longer than wide, bearing one or two basal setae and some more distal spine-like sensilla. Telopodite comprises two articles, the basal one without setae, the distal one with three setae and five or six spine-like sensilla. No coxosternal lappets; telopodital lappets present and pointed (Fig. 2 B). Coxosternite of the second maxillae entire, the intermediate part uniformly sclerotised as the remaining parts, its anterior margin concave; no sclerotised ridges. Telopodite of the second maxillae composed of three articles: article 1 with two or three very short external setae, article 2 with one or two very short external setae, article 3 with five or six long distal setae; a simple long apical claw, subconical but hook-shaped at its extremity, with a dorsal bulge at its mid length (Fig. 3 D).
Forcipular segment. Tergite trapezoid, the lateral margins distinctly converging anteriorly, ~ 2.3 × wider than long, posteriorly almost as wide as the subsequent metatergite (Fig. 3 A). Exposed part of the coxosternite ~ 1.1 × wider than long; anterior margin with a medial shallow concavity, without denticles. Coxopleural sutures complete, entirely ventral or almost, only very slightly sinuous, and strongly converging posteriorly. Chitin-lines well distinct, reaching the condyles, moderately curved and converging posteriorly (Figs 2 C, 3 E). Trochanteroprefemur ~ 1.1 × as wide as long, the external side ~ 2.2 × longer than the internal side, without denticles and with some setae (Figs 2 C, 3 F). Forcipular intermediate articles distinct, without denticles, each with some long setae. Tarsungulum curved, gradually narrowing, ~ 2.2 × as long as wide and with a basal sub-conic tubercle; slightly crenulated in its concavity, with 3–6 shallow projections, less pronounced on the left than on the right (Figs 2 C, 3 F).
Leg-bearing segments. 99 LBS. No paratergites. Metatergite 1 wider than the subsequent one, lateral margins converging posteriorly, without pretergite. Metatergites with two paramedian sulci. Metasternites slightly longer than wide (length / width ratio ~ 1.1 at ~ 20 % of the LBS), uniformly areolate; setae very sparse. Metasternites of LBS 10–20 with a carpophagus pit on the anterior margin, fairly deep on LBS 14–19, ~ 0.6 × as wide as the margin of metasternite (Figs 2 D, 3 G). Glandular pores on the metasternites from the 2 nd to the penultimate, up to 30–35 pores and loosely arranged in a sub-ovoid / sub-triangular pore-field on the posterior half of each metasternite in the anterior part of the trunk (Fig. 2 D); the pore-fields being much less visible in the posterior half of the trunk, loosely arranged in a transverse band of pores in the ~ 5–10 penultimate LBS. Length / width ratio of leg tarsus ~ 2.3 at ~ 20 % of the LBS. Leg claws simple.
Ultimate leg-bearing segment. Setae uniformly sparse. Pleuropretergite entire, lacking sutures or sulci. Metatergite sub-trapezoid, ~ 1.5 × wider than long, lateral margins very slightly convex and distinctly converging posteriorly, posterior margin convex. Presternite not medially constricted. Metasternite trapezoid, ~ 1.3 × wider than long, anteriorly 1.4 × wider than posteriorly (Fig. 2 E); lateral margins slightly convex, converging backwards; posterior margin straight. Coxal organs of each coxopleuron opening through five or six independent pores: two dorsal pores, one covered by the pleuropretergite and one exposed on the dorso-lateral side (Fig. 2 F); three or four ventral pores including two or three more or less aligned under the edge of the corresponding metasternite and a single pore isolated on the postero-central part of the ventral side (Figs 2 E, 3 H). Telopodite 0.43 mm long, 7.8 × as long as wide, ~ 1.7 × as long as the penultimate telopodite; six articles, all covered dorsally with sparse long setae, ventrally with dense shorter setae; a fairly well-developed apical claw (Fig. 3 H).
Postpedal segments. Gonopods in the shape of a short, slightly bilobate lamina. A pair of anal pores.
Distribution and ecology.
The new species is only known from the type locality (see above; Fig. 1). The single specimen was collected in a shaded maquis of old Arbutus unedo L., 1753 with also some large Quercus suber L., 1753 (Fig. 5). It was found after sieving with a Winkler apparatus, at a depth of 10–20 cm in the soil.
Etymology.
This species is dedicated to Prince Albert II de Monaco, because the Foundation Prince Albert II de Monaco has supported the field work of this study. The epithet alberti is intended as a noun in the genitive case.
Identification key to the European genera of Geophilidae s. l.
Within Europe, the Geophilidae s. l. can be distinguished from all other Chilopoda by means of the combination of the following two characters:> 25 pairs of legs and second maxillary pretarsi in shape of either subconical, non-spatulate, pointed claw or a tubercle with only one or two tiny spines. A total of 20 genera of Geophilidae s. l. are recorded in Europe (Table 2).
The key should be applied by examining any specimen through a microscope. A magnification of 50 × is recommended, even 100 × for examining labrum and pore-fields. For characters defined on the leg-bearing segments, examination between the 5 th and the 20 th LBS is recommended.
In addition to the dichotomic characters included in the key, additional information is given for each genus (number of species recorded in Europe, geographical distribution within Europe, and additional morphological characters), between square brackets, to assist in the identification.
description: Published as part of Iorio, Étienne & Bonato, Lucio, 2024, A new species of the rare genus Endogeophilus from southern France, with a key to the European genera of Geophilidae s. l. (Chilopoda), pp. 199-224 in ZooKeys 1213 on pages 199-224, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1213.133171