Prosopodesmus

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Prosopodesmus
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Myriapoda
Class: Diplopoda
Order: Polydesmida
Family: Haplodesmidae
Genus: Prosopodesmus
Silvestri, 1910
Type species
Prosopodesmus jacobsoni
Silvestri, 1910
Synonyms
  • HomodesmusChamberlin, 1918
  • RhipidopeltisMiyosi, 1958

Prosopodesmus is a genus of flat-backed millipedes in the family Haplodesmidae. [1] These millipedes are found primarily in Australia and southern Japan. [2] This genus includes the species P. panporus , which is notable for exhibiting sexual dimorphism in segment number: Whereas adult females of this species feature the usual 20 segments (counting the collum as the first segment and the telson as the last) usually observed in the order Polydesmida, the adult males of this species feature only 19 segments. [3]

Contents

Discovery and distribution

This genus was created by the Italian zoologist Filippo Silvestri in 1910 to contain the newly discovered type species P. jacobsoni. [4] Although Silvestri based the original description of this species on type material collected from Java, this species has since proven to be a pantropical synanthrope, [2] found in Louisiana, Florida, Puerto Rico, Haiti, Panama, Brazil, India, Taiwan, and Fiji, among other places. [5] In 1920, the French myriapodologist Henri W. Brölemann originally described P. hilaris as a subspecies of P. jacobsoni found in Zanzibar, [6] but some authorities now regard this millipede to be a separate species. [7]

In 1980, the British myriapodologist John Gordon Blower and Adrian J. Rundle described another species in the same genus, P. panporus. [8] They based the original description of this species on several specimens collected from the hothouses for tropical plants in the Kew Gardens in England. [5] [8] The geographic origin of this species remained a mystery until 2012, when the zoologist Robert Mesibov reported the discovery of P. panporus specimens collected in 1986 from a remote tropical rainforest in the Cape York penninsula of Queensland in Australia, [5] which authorities now consider likely to be the native range of this species. [2]

In 2009, authorities deemed the genus Rhipidopeltis to be a junior synonym of Prosopodesmus. [9] This synonymy moved two more species to the genus Prospodesmus, both found in Japan: The species P. sinuatus was first described by the Japanese myriapodologist Yasunori Miyosi in 1958 and is found in southern Honshu, [10] whereas the species P. similis was first described by A. Haga in 1968 and is found in Kyushu. [5] [11]

Finally, in 2012, Mesibov described three new Prosopodesmus species, all found in the Wet Tropics of north Queensland in Australia. The species P. crater is found in the rainforest in the Atherton Tableland southwest of Cairns in Queensland. The species P. kirrama is found in the rainforest in the mountains northwest of Ingham and southwest of Tully in Queensland. The species P. monteithi is found in the rainforest from Daintree National Park west of Cape Tribulation to the Malbon Thompson range on the coast southeast of Cairns in Queensland. [5]

Description

Adults in this genus feature 20 segments (including the telson), [9] except for adult males of the species P. panporus, which have only 19 segments. [8] The species in this genus range in size from P. panporus, which reaches a maximum length of only 4.3 mm and is one of the smallest millipedes known, [8] to P. monteithi, which reaches a maximum length of 15 mm and is the largest known species in the genus Prosopodesmus. [5] These millipedes are not capable of volvation. The paranota are well developed and sloping, and the tergites feature three transverse rows of tubercles. The gonopods are shaped like hooks and are fairly simple, with no separate solenomere branch. [9]

Species

This genus includes eight species: [1]

Related Research Articles

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

Polydesmida is the largest order of millipedes, with more than 5,000 species, including all the millipedes reported to produce hydrogen cyanide (HCN). This order is also the most diverse of the millipede orders in terms of morphology. Millipedes in this order are found in all regions of the world other than Antarctica.

<i>Eutrichodesmus</i> Genus of millipedes

Eutrichodesmus is a genus of millipedes in the family Haplodesmidae, containing at least 32 species in China, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia. One of these species exhibits sexual dimorphism in segments number: The adult females have 20 segments, but the adult males have only 19.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xystodesmidae</span> Family of millipedes

Xystodesmidae is a family of millipedes in the suborder Leptodesmidea within the order Polydesmida. The family Xystodesmidae was created by the American biologist Orator F. Cook in 1895 and named after the genus Xystodesmus. This family includes more than 390 known species distributed among 62 genera. Many species, however, remain undescribed: for example, it is estimated that the genus Nannaria contains over 200 species, but only 25 were described as of 2006. By 2022, 78 species in Nannaria have been described.

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

Polyzoniida is an order of millipedes in the subterclass Colobognatha. This order contains three families and more than 70 described species. The species in this order are also known as camphor millipedes, because ozopore secretions in this order frequently have a strong camphor-like smell. Poison frogs in South America and Madagascar evidently obtain some of their poison from these millipedes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haplodesmidae</span> Family of millipedes

Haplodesmidae is a family of millipedes in the order Polydesmida. This family includes about 70 species. Species occur in East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania, although some species have been introduced to the New world tropics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthroleucosomatidae</span> Family of millipedes

Anthroleucosomatidae is a family of millipedes in the order Chordeumatida. This family includes more than 100 species distributed among 40 genera. This family has a mostly Holarctic distribution, with the greatest diversity in the area around the Mediterranean sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craspedosomatidae</span> Family of millipedes

Craspedosomatidae is a family of millipedes in the order Chordeumatida. Most adult millipedes in this family have 30 segments, but some have only 28. There are at least 30 genera and 210 described species in Craspedosomatidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metopidiotrichidae</span> Family of millipedes

Metopidiotrichidae is a family of millipedes in the order Chordeumatida. This family includes more than 70 species. These millipedes are found in Indochina, Australia, and on Pacific islands from New Zealand to Japan.

<i>Brachydesmus</i> Genus of millipedes

Brachydesmus is a genus of millipedes belonging to the family Polydesmidae. The Czech zoologist Camill Heller first described this genus to contain the type species B. subterraneus. This genus now includes about 75 described species.

Mastigophorophyllidae is a family of millipedes belonging to the order Chordeumatida. Adult millipedes in this family have 30 segments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trichopolydesmidae</span> Family of myriapods

Trichopolydesmidae is a family of millipedes belonging to the order Polydesmida. This family includes two genera notable for featuring sexual dimorphism in segment number: adult females in these genera have the 20 segments usually found in this order, but adult males have only 19. This family also includes the species Deharvengius bedosae, notable for being among the very few species in this order to feature adults with only 18 segments rather than the 20 segments usually found in polydesmids.

Kirkayakidae is a family of millipedes belonging to the order Chordeumatida. This family was formerly known as Altajellidae. Adult millipedes in this family have 28 segments rather than the 30 segments usually found in chordeumatidans.

Termitodesmidae is a family of millipedes belonging to the order Glomeridesmida. These millipedes are found in India, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam. The five known species in this family are notable in that they are found only in termite mounds. Termitodesmidae is the only myriapod family known to depend on insects in such a commensal relationship.

<i>Inodesmus</i> Genus of millipedes

Inodesmus is a genus of millipedes in the family Haplodesmidae, first described by Orator F. Cook in 1896. The type species is I. jamaicensis. Members of this genus are found in Jamaica, New Caledonia, and the Australian states of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia.

Devillea is a genus of flat-backed millipedes in the family Xystodesmidae. These millipedes are rare and limited to caves. Species in this genus are found in Sardinia, Capri, and southern France in the Maritime Alps. These species are notable for featuring more than the 20 segments usually found in the order Polydesmida. This genus is one of only two genera in this order to feature these extra segments and the first such genus to be discovered.

Opisthocheiron is a genus of millipedes in the family Opisthocheiridae. These millipedes are found in France and Spain. The French entomologist Henri Ribaut created this genus in 1913 to contain the newly discovered type species Opisthocheiron penicillatum. This genus also includes the cave-dwelling species Opisthocheiron canayerensis, notable as one of only a few species in the order Chordeumatida with only 26 segments in adults, four fewer segments than typically found in adults in this order.

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.

Prosopodesmus panporus is a species of flat-backed millipede in the family Haplodesmidae. Also known as the hothouse millipede, this species was first discovered in hothouses for tropical plants in England, where it is well established, but is probably native to Australia. This species features a unique distribution of ozopores, which appear on all segments with two pairs of legs. The species P. panporus is named for this complete series of ozopores and is the only species in the order Polydesmida with this distribution. This millipede is also notable for exhibiting sexual dimorphism in segment number: Whereas adult females of this species feature the 20 segments usually observed in the order Polydesmida, the adult males of this species feature only 19 segments.

References

  1. 1 2 "MilliBase - Prosopodesmus Silvestri, 1910". www.millibase.org. Retrieved 2024-08-25.
  2. 1 2 3 Enghoff, Henrik; Golovatch, Sergei; Short, Megan; Stoev, Pavel; Wesener, Thomas (2015-01-01). "Diplopoda — taxonomic overview". Treatise on Zoology – Anatomy, Taxonomy, Biology. The Myriapoda, Volume 2: 363–453 [402]. doi:10.1163/9789004188273_017. ISBN   9789004188273.
  3. ↑ Enghoff, Henrik; Dohle, Wolfgang; Blower, J. Gordon (1993). "Anamorphosis in Millipedes (Diplopoda) — The Present State of Knowledge with Some Developmental and Phylogenetic Considerations". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 109 (2): 103–234 [147–148]. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1993.tb00305.x.
  4. ↑ Silvestri, Filippo; Silvestri, Filippo (1910). "Descrizioni preliminari di nuovi generi di Diplopodi. I. Polydesmoidea". Zoologischer Anzeiger (in Latin). 35: 357–364 [360–362].
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Mesibov, Robert (2012-05-04). "New species of Prosopodesmus Silvestri, 1910 (Diplopoda, Polydesmida, Haplodesmidae)from Queensland, Australia". ZooKeys (190): 33–54. Bibcode:2012ZooK..190...33M. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.190.3276 . ISSN   1313-2970. PMC   3349066 . PMID   22639530.
  6. ↑ Brolemann, Henry Wilfred; Brolemann, Henry Wilfred (1920-08-03). "Myriapodes III. Diplopoda". Voyage de Ch. Alluaud et R. Jeannel en Afrique orientale (1911-1912). Résultats scientifiques. 16: 49–298 [226–231].
  7. ↑ "MilliBase - Prosopodesmus hilaris Brölemann, 1920". www.millibase.org. Retrieved 2024-08-25.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Blower, J. Gordon; Rundle, Adrian J. (1980). "Prosopodesmus panporus, an interesting new species of polydesmoid millipede from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, England" (PDF). Myriapodologica. 1 (4): 27–34.
  9. 1 2 3 Golovatch, Sergei; Geoffroy, Jean-Jacques; Mauriès, Jean-Paul; VandenSpiegel, Didier (2009-04-07). "Review of the millipede family Haplodesmidae Cook, 1895, with descriptions of some new or poorly-known species (Diplopoda, Polydesmida)". ZooKeys (7): 1–53 [40, 43]. Bibcode:2009ZooK....7....1G. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.7.117 . ISSN   1313-2970.
  10. ↑ Miyosi, Yasunori (1958). "Beiträge zur Kenntnis japanischer Myriopoden. 25. Aufsatz: Über eine neue Gattung und eine neue Art von Diplopoden". Zoological Magazine (in Japanese and German). 67 (10): 297–300 – via NDL Digital Collections.
  11. ↑ Golovatch, Sergei I.; Mikhaljova, Elena V.; Korsós, Zoltán; Chang, Hsueh-Wen (2010-04-01). "The Millipede Family Haplodesmidae (Diplopoda, Polydesmida) Recorded in Taiwan for the First Time, with the Description of a New Species". Tropical Natural History. 10 (1): 27–36 [33]. ISSN   2586-9892.
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