Dazbogosoma mokoshae Sevic & Antic 2022, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Šević, Mirko
name: Antić, Dragan
name: Stojanović, Dalibor
name: Makarov, Slobodan
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Diplopoda
Chordeumatida
Anthroleucosomatidae
Dazbogosoma
Dazbogosoma mokoshae

description: Dazbogosoma mokoshae Šević & Antić, sp. nov.
Figs 1–5B, C
Diagnosis. Dazbogosoma mokoshae sp. nov. differs from its only congener, D. naissi, mainly in the structure and appearance of the gonopods. The central unpaired process of the new species has a distinctive groove on the anterior side, splitting the structure into two lobes with two “horns” each (vs two wide apically branched “horns” with a small setose one in the middle in D. naissi). Angiocoxites of the posterior gonopods in D. mokoshae sp. nov. are slender, curving slightly outwards, lacking distal tubercules (vs robustly built angiocoxites curving inward, with distal tubercules in D. naissi).
Name. Mokosh is a Slavic goddess of fertility and moisture who protects women’s destiny and well-being (Ivanits 1989). The specific epithet is a name in the genitive case.
Material examined. (4 ♂♂, 15 ♀♀, 16 juveniles)
Holotype: SERBIA ● ♂; Ozrenska Cave (= Delta Cave), 43.623128 N, 21.858796 E, near Sokobanja, Ozren Mt., collected by hand; 14.12.2021; leg. D. Antić; NHMW MY10269.
Paratypes: SERBIA; all from the same cave ● 1 ♂, 4 ♀♀, 4 juveniles; Barber’s pitfall traps; 14.12.2021; leg. D. Antić & D. Stojanović; IZB ● 1 ♂; Barber’s pitfall traps; 12.06.2020; leg. S. Makarov; IZB ● 1 ♀, 1 juvenile; Barber’s pitfall traps; 03.10.2019; leg. S. Makarov; IZB ● 2 juveniles; collected by hand; 18.06.2019; leg. D. Antić & S. Makarov; IZB ● 1 ♀, Barber’s pitfall traps, 15.04.2019; leg. D. Antić & D. Stojanović; IZB ● 2 ♀♀, 3 juveniles; Barber’s pitfall trap; 15.10.2018; leg. S. Makarov; IZB ● 1 juvenile; collected by hand; 24.06.2018; leg. S. Makarov; IZB; ● 2 juveniles; collected by hand; 15.06.2017; leg. D. Antić & S. Makarov; IZB ● 1 ♀; collected by hand; 26.10.2016; leg. D. Antić; IZB ● 1 ♀, 2 juveniles; collected by hand; 07.07.2013; leg. D. Antić; NHMW MY10270 ● 1 ♀, 1 juvenile; collected by hand; 28.05.2013; leg. D. Antić; IZB ● 1 ♀; Barber’s pitfall traps; date unknown; leg. D. Antić; IZB.
Additional material: SERBIA; same cave ● 1 ♂, 3 ♀♀; Barber’s pitfall traps; 01.06.2021; leg. D. Antić, D. Stojanović & M. Šević; IZB.
Description. Size and number of body rings. Body in adults with 30 rings (including telson). Holotype male 12 mm long, vertical diameter of the largest ring 0.9 mm. Paratype females collected by hand 10.8–12.4 mm long, vertical diameter of the largest ring 0.9–1 mm, respectively. (Due to the elongation of the specimens from the Barber’s pitfall traps, as a consequence of vinegar used in them, the measurements of these specimens are not included here).
Coloration (Figs 1, 5A, B). Pale and depigmented, yellowish-white to white.
Head. Setose, frontal side slightly concave in males, convex in females. Labrum with 3 medial teeth and 4+4 labral and 2+2 supralabral setae. Promentum triangular, without setae. Lingual plates with 6+6 setae arranged in one row. Stipites with 21–23 setae each. Antennae 2 mm long in holotype male. Length of antennomeres (in mm): I (0.11), II (0.15), III (0.53), IV (0.3), V (0.53), VI (0.2), VII (0.15) and VIII (0.03). Length/breadth ratios of antennomeres I–VII: I (1.2), II (2), III (4.5), IV (2.5), V (4.2), VI (1.2), and VII (1.8). Antennomeres II, IV, V, VI, and VII with one, three, one, four, and one sensillum trichodeum, respectively. Papillae-like outgrowths present laterally to antennal sockets. In both sexes 5–8 blackish ommatidia, arranged mostly into an elongated group within two to three irregular rows (Fig. 1B). Number of ommatidia may be unequal on different sides of head in same animal.
Collum. Narrower than the head, with six macrochaetae, as all body rings. Anterior edge semi-circular, posterior margin gently concave.
Body rings (Figs 1, 5B, C). Paraterga small and roundish humps, somewhat more pronounced in males. Paraterga more pronounced in the first third of the animal, tapering towards the telson, absent from few last rings. Rings dorsally covered with scale-like structures, laterally and ventrally striated. Prozonites with hexagonal tiles. Lateral parts of the humps are smooth. Macrochaetae trichoid, short in first half of the body, longer and thinner towards telson. CIX = 0.9; MIX = 1.7; PIX = 0.4; MA ~ 105˚.
Telson. Epiproct with a pair of spinnerets and 3+3 setae (1+1 paramedian, 2+2 marginal). Hypoproct with 1+1 distal setae. Paraprocts with 3+3 marginal setae in distal part.
Leg-pairs 1 and 2 (Figs 2A, B, 4A). In both sexes with tarsal combs; femora with several long and robust setae; postfemora and tibiae each with several long and robust setae arranged in a group.
Male sexual characters (excluding gonopods) (Figs 2, 5C). Leg-pair 2 with genital openings on coxa (Fig. 2B). Leg pairs 3–7 strongly incrassate, pairs 5–7 much larger (Figs 2C–G, 5C). Leg pairs 3 and 4 each with a basal, exterior protrusion on prefemur (Fig. 2C, D). Leg pair 4 with mesal protrusions on both postfemur and tibia (Fig. 2D). Leg pair 5 prefemur with anteriorly facing basal process, curving proximad, femur particularly swollen, tarsus curved and hook-like (Fig. 2E). Leg pair 6 with a greatly elongated, almost pear-shaped femur, and a distally swollen tarsus (Fig. 2F). Leg pair 7 with an elongated, saber-like tarsus (Fig. 2G). Leg pairs 10 and 11 both with coxal sacks (Fig. 2H, I); additionally, leg pair 11 with a prominent, posterior coxal horn curved mesad (Fig. 2I).
Anterior gonopods (Fig. 3A–C). Sternum with a medial tuberculate protrusion (tl) anteriorly. Posteriorly, syncolpocoxite’s (s) proximal half shape of a weizer glass; distally with a well-developed pair of medial, elongated processes (mp) curved anteriad and mesally completely fused with lamella (l); a pair of lateral, anteriorly curved processes (lp) present at half the height of syncolpoxocite. Anterior surface of mp and l covered with branching, spine-like outgrowths (sb). Anteriorly, syncolpocoxite with a central unpaired process (cp) bearing four horns covered with hair-like outgrowths, two lateral (h1) and two more prominent, mesal ones (h2). Posterodistal surface of cp covered with branching, spine-like outgrowths (sb). Angiocoxites (a) with numerous lamellar outgrowths, serrated on ridges, anteriorly almost enveloping the basal part of unpaired central process. Posteriorly, angiocoxites with a slightly spatulated and distally serrated process (spa) with small spine-like outgrowths along the mesal edge. Anteromesal process (amp) apically with thin lamellae, in base slightly enveloped by lateral part of angiocoxite (lpa). Anterior mesal lamellae (ml) well-developed, partially covering the proximal part of cp by thin and wide distal lamellar lobes (ll); in addition, below ll, small serrated lobes (sl) present.
Posterior gonopods (Fig. 3D). Colpocoxites (c) oblanceolate, pilose in distal half, with interior canal visible. Angiocoxites (a) slender, parallel to each other, slightly curved anteriad, tapering distad and without distal tubercules; twice as long as colpocoxites.
Female sexual characters (excluding vulvae) (Fig. 4A, B). Leg pair 2 (Fig. 4A) with a short process on the posterior side of coxa. Sternum 3 (Fig. 4B) with a prominent mace-like denticulate anterior process (smp). Leg pair 3 (Fig. 4B) with enlarged podomeres, prefemora with two distinct bulges (pb) covered with tubercules, anteroproximally and disto-laterally.
Vulvae. (Fig. 4C, D). Operculum (o) bilobed, with tufts of three long setae originating from each lobe. Bursa (b) stocky, slightly longer than wide, seemingly cuboid. Groove (g) medially splitting the bursa into two valves of unequal lengths, bulbous covered channel of receptaculum seminis could be seen through. Lateral valve shorter, with a prominent conical bulge (bb) rising latero-distally and covered with papillae. Both valves covered with rare long setae.
Type locality. The type and only known locality of D. mokoshae sp. nov. is located on the Mountain Ozren near Sokobanja in eastern Serbia. Due to its characteristic main entrance having the shape of the capital Greek letter Δ (Fig. 5A), the cave is also known as Delta Cave (Milojević et al. 2015). The length of the cave channels is about 420 m, temperature 10–11°C, and the humidity 85–90% (Petrović 1976). The cave is dry, with very little dripping water and is poor in cave speleothems. During the 1980s there was a project to adjust the cave and make it suitable for tourists, thus after years of neglect, artificial structures started crumbling making the cave less safe for visits. Parts of the cave are destroyed and collapsed today, to which the “treasure hunters” also contributed.
All specimens of the new species were collected in the central part of the cave, which is divided in two levels, by hands or using Barber’s pitfall traps. Living specimens were found on rotten wood, on cave walls as well as under rocks. It is worth mentioning that we visited this cave numerous times between 2013 and 2021, and that living specimens were found only a few times during the first 5 years, and during the last entry. Due to a lack of males, the first Barber’s pitfall traps were set in 2018. They were checked numerous times by the end of 2021, but only a few times did specimens of this species appear in them. The first male was found only in 2020. During the last entry into the cave, in December 2021, when there was far more dripping water than in the previous eight years of research, we found the largest number of specimens, almost one third of the total number. This visit also resulted in finding the only living male (Fig. 5C), located on the side wall just next to one of the Barber’s pitfall traps.
Dazbogosoma mokoshae sp. nov. is the only known presumably troglobiotic species in this cave so far. During numerous field researches of this cave a number of troglophilic, trogloxenic and guanobitic arthropods were observed.
description: Published as part of Šević, Mirko, Antić, Dragan, Stojanović, Dalibor & Makarov, Slobodan, 2022, Dazbogosoma mokoshae, a new cavernicolous species of the previously monospecific genus Dazbogosoma Makarov & Ćurčić, 2012, from Serbia (Diplopoda: Chordeumatida: Anthroleucosomatidae), pp. 241-252 in Zootaxa 5165 (2) on pages 243-250, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5165.2.5, http://zenodo.org/record/6831791