Taxonomy
In 1916, the French myriapodologist Henry W. Brölemann proposed Macrosternodesmini as a tribe to include the monotypic European genus Macrosternodesmus , [10] which he had described earlier in 1908. [11] In 1980, the American biologist Richard L. Hoffman elevated this tribe name to family status as Macrosternodesmidae. [12] [13] In 2013, however, the Russian zoologist Sergei I. Golovatch deemed Macrosternodesmidae to be a junior synonym of Trichopolydesmidae. [8] In 2017, the biologists William A. Shear and James M. Reddell rejected this proposed synonymy and retained Macrosternodesmidae as a valid family mostly endemic to North America but also including Macrosternodesmus and three other monotypic European genera. [14]
Authorities often consider Nearctodesmidae to be a junior synonym of Macrosternodesmidae. [15] [8] In 2017, Shear and Reddell placed the genera previously assigned to the family Nearctodesmidae in a new subfamily Nearctodesminae in the family Macrosternodesmidae. [14] Others have adopted this proposed revision. [16] [17] In 2019, Shear, Rowland M. Shelley, and David B. Steinmann proposed two new genera ( Packardesmus and Coloradesmus ) and placed them in the other subfamily (Macrosternodesminae) in this family. [18] [12] Some authorities accept Macrosternodesmidae as a valid family but nevertheless place Macrosternodesmus, Packardesmus, and Coloradesmus in the family Trichopolydesmidae instead. [1] [19]
Description
As described by Shear and Reddell based on North American species, the millipedes in this family feature a small collum shaped like a transverse oval and well developed paranota. Species in this family range from white to brown or red. [14] Whereas millipedes in the subfamily Macrosternodesmidae are small (2.5 mm to 12 mm in length) and often lack pigment, [12] those in the subfamily Neactodesminae are much larger (10 mm to 35 mm in length) and often brown, orange, pink, or red. [18] Whereas Macrosternodesmines feature short antennae with bulbous distal segments, Nearctodesmines feature long antennae with cylindrical distal segments. [12] The tergites feature setae that are often arranged on rows of tubercles in Macrosternodesmines, but these surfaces are entirely smooth and lack setae in Nearctodesmines. [14] [12]
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