Decapauropus cuenoti

Last updated

Decapauropus cuenoti
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Myriapoda
Class: Pauropoda
Order: Tetramerocerata
Family: Pauropodidae
Genus: Decapauropus
Species:
D. cuenoti
Binomial name
Decapauropus cuenoti
Remy, 1931
Synonyms
  • Allopauropus cuenoti(Remy, 1931)

Decapauropus cuenoti is a species of pauropod in the family Pauropodidae. [1] As the name of the genus Decapauropus suggests, this species is notable for including females with ten pairs of legs instead of the nine leg pairs usually found in adult pauropods in the order Tetramerocerata. [2] [3] [4] Before the discovery of D. cuenoti, adult pauropods were thought to have invariably nine pairs of legs. [5]

Contents

Discovery and taxonomy

This species was first described by the French zoologist Paul Remy in 1931 as the type species for the new genus Decapauropus. [4] He based the original description of this species on three female specimens, one with ten pairs of legs and two with nine leg pairs, which he collected in 1930 from under rotting wood on compost near a farm in the Servance commune in France. [6] [7] In 1957, Remy demoted Decapauropus from a genus to a subgenus within the genus Allopauropus, but the Swedish zoologist Ulf Scheller restored Decapauropus as a separate genus in 2008. [2]

Description

This pauropod was the first of many species in the genus Decapauropus found to feature females with ten leg pairs. [4]   Even among adult females of this species, however, most have the usual nine leg pairs, and only a minority have the unusual tenth leg pair. [4] [8] [9] These unusual females add the tenth pair in an additional adult stage beyond the five stages of post-embryonic development usually observed in the order Tetramerocerata. [3] This extra stage features the twelve trunk segments usually found in adults in this order but adds an extra pair of legs. [4] Although this extra adult stage is rare in warm and moist regions with favorable conditions for survival, females with ten leg pairs are generally more common where the environment is less hospitable. [4]

The species D. cuenoti is pale, with an elongated body and a fusiform shape. The adult can reach 0.7 mm in length, with a maximum width of 0.2 mm in the middle of the body. The head is wider than long. The most anterior dorsal seta in the middle of the head is clavate, in front of four rows of similar dorsal setae. [7]

This species exhibits many traits shared with other species in the genus Decapauropus. For example, this species has five-segmented legs for the first and last leg pairs and six-segmented legs for the pairs in between. [7] [2] The setae on the distal segments of the antennae and features of the pygidium (last segment), however, are useful in distinguishing among species. [3]

In this species, each of the first three segments of the antennae features a pair of slightly clavate setae, and the distal end of the third segment also features a transverse slit with a third seta similar to the adjacent pair. The fourth and most distal segment features four setae: one cylindrical and tenuous, the other three clavate. The two shorter clavate setae appear on the ventral side; the third clavate seta is twice as long as the others and appears on the dorsal side. At the distal end of the fourth segment, two branches emerge: a ventral branch with a slightly clavate seta on the ventral side, two flagella (one short and one long), and a globulus, and a dorsal branch with a longer flagellum. [7]

The pygidium is wider than long. The sternum features a lateral pair of setae as well as a posterior pair of longer setae that are about 3.5 times as long as the lateral pair. The anal plate attached to the middle of the posterior of the sternum takes the form of two lobes joined at the proximal end, each with a posterior extension and two slightly curved narrow horns. [7]

Distribution

This species has a subcosmopolitan distribution. [8] This pauropod is common in Europe, where this species is more frequently found in the north than the south. In Europe, this species is found in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Great Britain, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Greece. This species is also found in Morocco, Algeria, Israel, Madeira, the Canary Islands, Réunion, and the United States. [10]

Habitat

In Europe, this species lives in deciduous as well as coniferous forests. This pauropod occurs in not only fresh meadows, vineyards, and gardens, but also in dry meadows, wasteland, and open-pit mining sites. This species is found in the litter layer, in grass sods, beneath moss, and under stones, as well as in soil, where this species favors deeper layers from 15 cm to 55 cm below the surface. Although D. cuenoti is typically found at depths between 15 cm and 30 cm, this species has been found as deep as 80 cm below the surface. [11]

Sex ratios and reproduction

This species features remarkably low ratios of males to females. In some regions, these sex ratios are so low as to suggest reproduction by parthenogenesis. Males appear to be especially scarce in regions where the environment is less favorable, and the extra adult stage for females with ten leg pairs may be an adaptation to parthenogenetic reproduction. [4]

A study of sex ratios in this species in Europe and North Africa finds notable geographic variation in the scarcity of males. Males of this species are entirely absent in northern Europe and North Africa, but less scarce in central and southern Europe (where the male/female ratio is 0.3). This species also exhibits striking variation in the fraction of females with ten pairs of legs among these regions: Females with ten pairs of legs are absent in southern Europe, but nearly half (47 percent) have ten pairs of legs in northern Europe, where males are entirely absent. Females with ten pairs of legs are present elsewhere but represent a small minority of the adults in central Europe (9.6 percent) and North Africa (4.5 percent). [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pauropoda</span> Class of arthropods

Pauropoda is a class of small, pale, millipede-like arthropods in the subphylum Myriapoda. More than 900 species in twelve families are found worldwide, living in soil and leaf mold. Pauropods look like centipedes or millipedes and may be a sister group of the latter, but a close relationship with Symphyla has also been posited. The name Pauropoda derives from the Greek pauros and pous or podus, because most species in this class have only nine pairs of legs as adults, a smaller number than those found among adults in any other class of myriapods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Symphyla</span> Class of many-legged arthropods

Symphylans, also known as garden centipedes or pseudocentipedes, are soil-dwelling arthropods of the class Symphyla in the subphylum Myriapoda. Symphylans resemble centipedes, but are very small, non-venomous, and only distantly related to both centipedes and millipedes. More than 200 species are known worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Myriapoda</span> Subphylum of arthropods

Myriapods are the members of subphylum Myriapoda, containing arthropods such as millipedes and centipedes. The group contains about 13,000 species, all of them terrestrial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pauropodidae</span> Family of many-legged arthropods

Pauropodidae is the most diverse family of pauropods, containing 27 genera and more than 800 species. This family has a subcosmopolitan distribution. These pauropods usually live in the soil on mountains and hills. This family also includes the only known fossil pauropod (Eopauropus).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glossary of entomology terms</span>

This glossary of entomology describes terms used in the formal study of insect species by entomologists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chordeumatida</span> Order of millipedes

Chordeumatida is a large order of millipedes containing more than 1,400 species. Also known as sausage millipedes, they are found nearly worldwide. Chordeumatida is the largest order in the superorder Nematophora, a group also known as spinning millipedes because their telsons feature spinnerets used to build nests of silk. These millipedes produce this silk to create chambers in which to molt or to lay their eggs.

Millotauropus is a genus of pauropods in the monotypic family Millotauropodidae in the monotypic order Hexamerocerata. The order Hexamerocerata includes only eight species and was created in 1950 to contain the newly discovered genus Millotauropus, which was found to have so many distinctive features as to warrant placement in a separate order. Before the discovery of Millotauropus, for example, pauropods were thought to have no more than ten leg pairs, but adults in the order Hexamerocerata have eleven pairs of legs.

Tetramerocerata is an order of pauropods containing 11 families and more than 900 species. This order was created in 1950 to distinguish these pauropods from those in the newly discovered genus Millotauropus, which was found to have such distinctive features as to warrant placement in a separate order (Hexamerocerata) created to contain that genus. The order Tetramerocerata includes the vast majority of pauropod species, as there are only eight species in the order Hexamerocerata, which remains the only other order in the class Pauropoda.

Bucolus fourneti is a native Australian, small, hairy coccinellid beetle approximately 2.1-4.5 mm in diameter. It was described by Étienne Mulsant in 1850

Brachypauropodidae is a family of pauropods. This family has a nearly worldwide distribution. Pauropods in this family are found on all continents except South America and Antarctica.

Zygopauropus is a monotypic genus of pauropod in the family Brachypauropodidae. The only species in this genus is Zygopauropus hesperius, which is found in the western United States. This genus is notable as one of only four genera of pauropods in which adults have only eight pairs of legs rather than the nine leg pairs usually found in adults in the order Tetramerocerata. Before the discovery of Zygopauropus, adult pauropods were thought to have only nine or (rarely) ten pairs of legs.

Decapauropus is a large genus of pauropods in the family Pauropodidae that includes more than 300 species. This genus was originally described by the French zoologist Paul Remy in 1931 to contain the newly discovered type species Decapauropus cuenoti. As the name of this genus suggests, this genus is notable for including females with ten pairs of legs instead of the nine leg pairs usually found in adult pauropods in the order Tetramerocerata. Before the discovery of D. cuenoti, adult pauropods were thought to have invariably nine pairs of legs.

Agenodesmus is a genus of millipedes in the family Fuhrmannodesmidae, which some authorities consider a junior synonym of Trichopolydesmidae. This genus is notable for being among the very few genera in the order Polydesmida to feature adults with only 18 segments rather than the 20 segments usually found in this order. The genus Agenodesmus contains only two species, A. reticulatus and A. nullus. The type species A. reticulatus is notable as the first polydesmidan millipede discovered with only 18 segments in adults, the smallest number recorded in the order Polydesmida. Before the discovery of A. reticulatus, polydesmidans were known to have only 19 or 20 segments in adults.

Neocambrisoma is a genus of millipedes in the family Metopidiotrichidae. Millipedes in this genus are found in Tasmania and New South Wales in Australia. Like other genera in this family, this genus features 32 segments in adults of both sexes, rather than the 30 segments usually observed in adults in the order Chordeumatida. Accordingly, female adults in this genus have 54 pairs of legs, which is not only the maximum number observed in this order but also the maximum number fixed by species in the class Diplopoda.

Schendylops oligopus is a species of soil centipede in the family Schendylidae. This species is notable as one of only two species in the order Geophilomorpha known to include centipedes with only 27 pairs of legs, the minimum number recorded in this order. Furthermore, S. oligopus was the first species in this order found to feature so few legs.

Devilliea tuberculata is a species of flat-backed millipedes in the family Xystodesmidae. Like other members of the genus Devillea, this species is limited to caves. This millipede has been found in several caves in the Alpes-Maritimes department of France. This species is notable as the first millipede in the order Polydesmida found to feature more than the 20 segments usually found in this order.

Neocambrisoma raveni is a species of millipede in the family Metopidiotrichidae. These millipedes are found in New South Wales in Australia. Like other species in this family, N. raveni features 32 segments in adults of both sexes, rather than the 30 segments usually observed in adults in the order Chordeumatida. Accordingly, adult females of this species have 54 pairs of legs, which is not only the maximum number observed in this order but also the maximum number fixed by species in the class Diplopoda.

Agenodesmus reticulatus is a species of millipede in the family Fuhrmannodesmidae, which some authorities consider a junior synonym of Trichopolydesmidae. This millipede is among the very few species in the order Polydesmida to feature adults with only 18 segments rather than the 20 segments usually found in this order. This species is notable as the first polydesmidan millipede discovered with only 18 segments in adults, the smallest number recorded in the order Polydesmida. Before the discovery of A. reticulatus, polydesmidans were known to have only 19 or 20 segments in adults.

References

  1. ↑ "ITIS - Report: Decapauropus cuenoti". www.itis.gov. Retrieved 2024-08-09.
  2. 1 2 3 Scheller, Ulf (2008). "A reclassification of the Pauropoda (Myriapoda)". International Journal of Myriapodology. 1 (1): 1–38. doi: 10.1163/187525408X316730 . ISSN   1875-2535.
  3. 1 2 3 Scheller, Ulf (2011). "Pauropoda". Treatise on Zoology - Anatomy, Taxonomy, Biology. The Myriapoda, Volume 1: 467–508. doi:10.1163/9789004188266_022. ISBN   9789004156111.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Scheller, Ulf; Adis, Joachim (2000). "Possible parthenogenesis in Allopauropus (Myriapoda: Pauropoda)". In Wytwer, Jolanta; Golovatch, Sergei (eds.). Progress in studies on myriapoda and onychophora: Proceedings of the 11th International Congress of Myriapodology, 20-24 July 1999, Białowieża, Poland. Fragmenta faunistica. Warszawa: Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences. pp. 171–77. ISBN   978-83-85192-96-1.
  5. ↑ Snodgrass, R. E. (1952). Textbook of Arthropod Anatomy. Ithaca, NY: Cornell Univ. p. 251. ISBN   978-1-5017-4080-0. JSTOR   10.7591/j.ctvn1tb6g. OCLC   1102791607.
  6. ↑ Remy, Paul (1931). "A propos d'un pauropode primitif". Comptes rendus, Association Française pour l'Avancement des Sciences (in French). 55: 271–272 – via Gallica.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Remy, Paul (1931). "Un nouveau type de Pauropode: Decapauropus Cuenoti, nov. gen., nov. sp". Archives de Zoologie expérimentale et générale, Paris (in French). 71: 67–83 – via Gallica.
  8. 1 2 Meyer, Erwin; Scheller, Ulf (1992). "Abundance and Species Composition in Forest Soils of Western Austria (Vorarlberg, Tirol)" (PDF). Berichte des Naturwissenschaftlich- Medizinischen Vereins in Innsbruck. Supplementum 10: 431–439.
  9. ↑ Scheller, Ulf; Berg, Matty P.; Jansen, Maurice G.M. (2004). "Pauropoda (Myriapoda), a Class New to the Dutch fauna, with the Description of a New Species". Entomologische Berichten. 64 (1): 3–9.
  10. ↑ Scheller, Ulf; Pfliegler, Walter P.; Korsós, Zoltán (2015). "Pauropoda (Myriapoda) records from Hungary with description of a new species" (PDF). Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae. 61 (2): 81–86 [82]. doi:10.17109/AZH.61.2.81.2015.
  11. ↑ Voigtländer, Karin; Decker, Peter; Burkhardt, Ulrich; Spelda, Jörg (2016). "The present knowledge of the Symphyla and Pauropoda (Myriapoda) in Germany - an annotated checklist" (PDF). Acta Societatis Zoologicae Bohemicae. 80: 51-85 [58, 80].
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.