Tuesday, March 31, 2015

[Invertebrate • 2015] Desmoxytes rhinoceros & D. rhinoparva • Two New Sspecies of Dragon Millipedes, Genus Desmoxytes Chamnerlin, 1923, from Laos (Diplopoda: Polydesmida: Paradoxosomatidae), with Redescriptions of All Four Species of Attems from Vietnam


Desmoxytes rhinoceros (Top) is found in southern Laos, whereas D. rhinoparva (Bottom) is from northern Laos
 (Credit: Animal Systematics Research Unit, Chulalongkorn University)
Abstract
Two new species of Desmoxytes are described and abundantly illustrated: D. rhinoceros sp. n. and D. rhinoparva sp. n., from southern and northern Laos, respectively. Illustrated redescriptions of all four Vietnamese Desmoxytes species proposed by Carl Attems are also provided, based on type material.

Keywords: Millipede, Desmoxytes, new species, Laos


Desmoxytes rhinoceros is found in southern Laos,
 (Credit: Animal Systematics Research Unit, Chulalongkorn University)

Likhitrakarn, Natdanai, Sergei I. Golovatch & Somsak Panha. 2015. Two New Sspecies of Dragon Millipedes, Genus Desmoxytes Chamnerlin, 1923, from Laos (Diplopoda: Polydesmida: Paradoxosomatidae), with Redescriptions of All Four Species of Attems from Vietnam. Zootaxa. 3931(4): 483–504.

Scientists have named two new species from the bizarre-looking group of dragon millipedes – the first to be discovered in Laos


Sergei I. Golovatch, Youbang Li, Weixin Liu, and Jean-Jacques Geoffroy. 2012. Three new cavernicolous species of dragon millipedes, genus Desmoxytes Chamberlin, 1923, from southern China, with notes on a formal congener from the Philippines (Diplopoda, Polydesmida, Paradoxosomatidae). Zookeys. 2012; (185): 1–17.  doi:  10.3897/zookeys.185.3082