Svaniulus Vagalinski 2021, gen. nov.
Creators: name: Vagalinski, Boyan
name: Golovatch, Sergei I.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Diplopoda
Julida
Julidae
Svaniulus

description: Genus Svaniulus Vagalinski gen. nov. Type species. <i>Svaniulus ryvkini</i> sp. nov., by present designation. Included species. <i>Svaniulus ryvkini</i> sp. nov. <i>Svaniulus waltheri</i> sp. nov. Diagnosis. A genus of Brachyiulini differing from contribal genera by the following combination of characters: promeres positioned anteriorly and only slightly laterally in relation to opisthomeres; caudal surface of promere bearing a strongly developed mesal process; opisthomere possessing a broad and flattened basoposterior process and a faint mesomeroidal lobe, and lacking lateral and anterior processes; solenomere simple, more or less slender, ending with a sharply pointed tip; vulva subconical, bursa with completely fused valves (forming neither an opening nor a cleft), a supposed autapomorphy. Name. Honours the Svan people, the indigenous inhabitants of Svanetia, northwestern Georgia, whence the type species of the new genus originates. Gender: masculine. General description. Medium-sized (L (males) = 23-28 mm) Brachyiulini. Ommatidia present. Ozopores set tightly behind pro-metazonal suture at least on more anterior body rings. Epiproct well-developed, relatively (not conspicuously) long. Hypoproct rounded trapezoidal to semi-circular, ventrally with two distal paramedian setae. Male mandibular stipites considerably expanded, forming a distinct ventro-anterior corner. Male pleurotergum 7 significantly bulging. Male walking legs ventrally with two well-developed adhesive pads, one each on postfemur and tibia. Penis short and stout, with very short apical lobes and small terminal lamellae. Gonopods: In situ: promeres considerably protruding outside gonopodal sinus, directed partly caudad, opisthomeres visible only with their apical parts. Promere slightly higher than opisthomere, elongate, bearing a long, stout, mesal process on caudal side; flagellum slightly shorter than height of promere. Opisthomere slender; basoposterior process well-developed, broad, flattened frontocaudally; anterior and apicoposterior processes absent; mesomeroidal lobe shaped as a weakly pronounced ridge; solenomere long and slender, distally bipartite, the frontal part ending in a fine, sharply pointed tip. Vulva: Subconical. Bursa without distinct postero-apical margin. Opening or median cleft absent - the two valves completely fused to one another. Operculum subequal in height to bursa. Receptaculum seminis: central tube short and narrow, ending in a distinct central ampulla; posterior tube long and narrow, ending in a subspherical posterior ampulla. Remarks. The new genus resembles <i>Omobrachyiulus</i> in the opisthomere having a mesomeroidal lobe (although weakly pronounced), a character not seen in other members of Brachyiulini. On the other hand, the long and freely protruding solenomere and the micro-papillary branches (albeit very small) apically on the opisthomeral basoposterior process suggest proximity to <i>Colchiobrachyiulus</i>, while the mesal process caudally on the promere might be homologous to the similarly positioned structure characteristic of the subgenus Colchiobrachyiulus Rhamphidoiulus Attems, 1905 of the genus <i>Cyphobrachyiulus</i> Verhoeff, 1900. Anyhow, this unique combination of gonopodal characters, coupled with the supposedly autapomorphic condition of the vulva make the establishment of the new genus warranted.
description: Published as part of <i>Vagalinski, Boyan &amp; Golovatch, Sergei I., 2021, The millipede tribe Brachyiulini in the Caucasus (Diplopoda, Julida, Julidae), pp. 1-127 in ZooKeys 1058</i> on page 1, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1058.68628