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| Alienostreptus bicoloripes Pimvichai, Akkari, Semenyuk, Constant & Enghoff, 2020 |
ABSTRACT
A new giant species of the subfamily Rhynchoproctinae with strikingly bi-coloured, red-yellow legs contrasting with a black body is described: Alienostreptus bicoloripes sp. nov. from Vietnam. The new species is assigned to the genus Alienostreptus Pimvichai, Enghoff & Panha, 2010 hitherto comprising one species, A. alienus (Attems, 1936), and differing from other rhynchoproctine genera by having the femoral spine duplicated. Species of this genus share three synapomorphic characters of the subfamily, viz (1) anterior coxal fold forms deep concavity in posterior view, (2) posterior coxal fold very low, and (3) posterior coxal fold with mesal flap. A superficially very similar colourful species from Borneo, also with bi-coloured legs but clearly not belonging to Alienostreptus due to the position of ventral soft pads on male legs, is documented based on photographs.
Keywords: new species, Southeast Asia, taxonomy
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| Alienostreptus bicoloripes sp. nov. A–C. Living females (from Kon Chu Rang Nature Reserve, Gia Lai Province), paratypes (RBINS, ZMUM). D. Living juveniles from Kon Plong protected forest, Kon Tum Province. |
Taxonomy
Class Diplopoda Blainville-Gervais, 1844
Order Spirostreptida Brandt, 1833
Family Harpagophoridae Attems, 1909
Subfamily Rhynchoproctinae Demange, 1961
Genus Alienostreptus Pimvichai, Enghoff & Panha, 2010
Alienostreptus bicoloripes sp. nov.
Diagnosis: Differs from the only other species in the genus, A. alienus, by:
- larger size
- straight preanal process (epiproct)
- tip of anterior coxal fold (ac)forming a flattened, sickle-shaped lamella with serrate margins
- canopy of anterior coxal fold (ca) with a broad, rounded lobe (in A. alienus with serrate margins)
- apical part of telopodite forming a single broadly expanded sheet, in A. alienus ending in two branches
- tibial spine much shorter than in A. alienus
Etymology: The species epithet refers to the strikingly bi-coloured legs.
Distribution: Gia Lai and Kon Tum provinces, Vietnam (Fig. 8).
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| Habitats of Alienostreptus bicoloripes sp. nov. in Vietnam. A–C. Kon Chu Rang Nature Reserve, Gia Lai Province. D. Kon Plong protected forest, Kon Tum Province. |
Piyatida Pimvichai, Nesrine Akkari, Irina Semenyuk, Jerôme Constant and Henrik Enghoff. 2020. A Strikingly Coloured New Giant Millipede from Vietnam has Copycat in Borneo (Diplopoda, Spirostreptida, Harpagophoridae). European Journal of Taxonomy. 722(1), 1-15. DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2020.722.1129