Typhloiulus bulgaricus Vagalinski, Stoev & Enghoff, 2015, sp. n.
Creators: name: Vagalinski, Boyan
name: Stoev, Pavel
name: Enghoff, Henrik
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2015
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Diplopoda
Julida
Julidae
Typhloiulus
Typhloiulus bulgaricus

description: Typhloiulus bulgaricus sp. n.
Figs 8–19
Material. Holotype ♂ broken into 2 pieces and body ring 7, gonopods mounted on slide (NMNHS), Bulgaria, Pleven Distr., v. Gortalovo, cave Aladzhanskata peshtera, 2.VII.1985, B. Garev leg.
Paratypes: 1 ♂ (in two pieces, gonopods mounted for SEM, 3rd, mid-body and posterior body leg, and penis mounted on slide), 3 ♀ (broken into 2 or more pieces; one left vulva mounted for SEM, vulva and mouthparts of another specimen dissected and placed in a microvial), 1 juv. (intact), same locality and collecting data as of the holotype (NMNHS).
Diagnosis. Differs from congeners by a combination of a laciniate velum and the absence of an intermediate lamella of the opisthomere; promere spoon-shaped, apically not bent; preanal process well-developed, pointed, directed slightly downward; mouthparts unmodified.
Etymology. Self-evident. Adjective.
Description. Holotype with 37+2+T body rings, length 15 mm, height 0.8 mm. Paratype ♂ with 41+1+T body rings, length 18 mm, height 0.9 mm. Paratype females with 36+2+T body rings, length 13 mm, height 0.8 mm; 35+2+T body rings, length 14 mm, height 0.8 mm; 38+2+T body rings, length 18 mm, height 0.9 mm.
Colouration: uniformly pale yellowish-beige, probably further decolourated due to alcohol conservation.
External structures: 4 supralabral and 14 labral setae. Labrum tridentate. Antennomeres 2, 3, 4 and 5 more or less equally long, considerably longer than 6th; antennomere 5 with a group of long sensilla basiconica (of similar size as the 4 sensilla on the antennal apex) laterally; similar, but slightly smaller sensilla present on antennomere 6. Gnathochilarium of normal julid appearance, with 3 apical setae on each stipes and with 4–5 setae in a row on each lingual plate; promentum relatively large, 2–2.3 times longer than broad, 0.59–0.63 times as long as lingual plates. Collum smooth, with just 3–4 very shallow longitudinal grooves near postero-lateral corner. Prozonae smooth. Metazonae perceivably, but rather scatteredly striated, with 4–5 striae in a square with sides equal to metazonal length just below ozopore level; a dense whorl of erect setae at metazonal hind margin; longer and shorter setae alternating, the longer ones ca ½ of metazonal length. Ozopores placed behind pro-metazonal suture at ca 1/4–1/3 of metazonal length. Telson (Fig. 8): preanal process moderately long, dorso-ventrally flattened, pointed, somewhat turned downwards, equal to or slightly surpassed by longest anal setae; subanal scale subtriangular, with a rounded tip, barely protruding behind rear contour of anal valves; anal valves sparsely pilose, with two distinct rows of shorter (ca ½ of lateral) setae along caudal margins. Male pleurotergum 7 (Fig. 9) with rounded protrusions, directed ventro-posteriad. Male legs: pair 1 converging, slightly turned upward hooks, without tarsal remnants; pair 3 (Fig. 11) with a small, but pronounced adhesive pad (a) on tibia; mid-body legs (Fig. 12) with a similar tibial pad (a) and with oval pits (p) on femur and postfemur; end-body legs (Fig. 13) with a minute tarsal pad (a), without pits on femur and postfemur; tarsus of mid-body leg 2.4–2.5 times longer than tibia and 2.7–2.8 times longer than apical claw.
Penis (Fig. 10): elongated, broadest at base, gradually narrowing up to its middle, then again slightly widening; apical lobes (al) short, stout, diverging, ending up with oblong, more or less parallel, terminal lamellae (tl).
Gonopods (Figs 14–18): Rather elongated, in situ protruding with their distal parts from gonopodal sinus, opisthomere somewhat longer than pro- and mesomere, promere slightly exceeding mesomere. Promere (Fig. 16 and P on Figs 14 & 15) more or less spoon- or shovel-shaped: gradually broadening towards a gently convex apical margin; distal part bent neither towards nor against mesomere, its caudal face densely tuberculate; parabasal internal lobe (il) oblong, with a flattened tip, with 3 apical setae; parabasal external lobe (el) quite large, leaf-like, exceeding height of internal lobe. Flagellum (f) thin, its apical part protruding above solenomere in intact gonopods. Mesomere (M on Figs 14 & 15) very slender, mostly straight, with a deeply and narrowly concave caudal face; apical part broadened, bent anteriad, with a smooth surface. Opisthomere (Figs 14, 15, 17 & 18) slender, without processes except for a laciniate velum (v); intermediate lamella absent; basal spine (sp) short and thin, mostly straight; solenomere (s) simple, with two minute apical processes.
Vulva: (Fig. 19): Somewhat compressed antero-caudally, slightly asymmetric: lateral valve higher and broader than mesal one. Opening (o) narrow and cleft-like, placed right in the center of bursa. 3 setae in a vertical row on each valve. Operculum (op) considerably exceeding bursa, with a broad, flat, apical margin. Receptaculum seminis consisting of a short, moderately thick, slightly bent central tube (ct) ending with an oblong central ampulla (ca), and a long, thin posterior tube (pt) forming several twists on its way to an egg-shaped posterior ampulla (pa).
Remarks. T. bulgaricus sp. n. shows a combination of unique gonopodal and somatic characters that none of the other congeners possesses. It resembles T. edentulus, from southwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina (Attems, 1951), by having an identical branched velum and similar gonopod proportions. Strasser (1962) placed the latter species in the monotypic subgenus Attemsotyphlus Strasser, 1962, which is outstanding by having an edentate labrum and modified mandibles, and by lacking a preanal process. None of these characters is present in T. bulgaricus sp. n., although the reduction of mouthparts is found in many unrelated julidans and thus of doubtful systematic value (Enghoff, 1985), and is thought to be a trait that developed as a result of adaptation to a semiaquatic way of living.
description: Published as part of Vagalinski, Boyan, Stoev, Pavel & Enghoff, Henrik, 2015, A review of the millipede genus Typhloiulus Latzel, 1884 (Diplopoda: Julida: Julidae), with a description of three new species from Bulgaria and Greece, pp. 334-362 in Zootaxa 3999 (3) on pages 346-349, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3999.3.2, http://zenodo.org/record/234012