The Rhynchoproctinae, a south-east Asiatic subfamily of giant millipedes: cladistic analysis, classification, four new genera and a deviating new species from north-west Thailand (Diplopoda : Spirostreptida : Harpagophoridae)
Piyatida Pimvichai A C , Henrik Enghoff B C and Somsak Panha A CA Animal Systematics Research Unit, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.
B Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark.
C Corresponding authors. Email: piyatida_pimvichai@yahoo.com, henghoff@snm.ku.dk, somsakp@sc.chula.ac.th
Invertebrate Systematics 24(1) 51-80 https://doi.org/10.1071/IS09052
Submitted: 28 December 2009 Accepted: 25 February 2010 Published: 17 May 2010
Abstract
The subfamily Rhynchoproctinae is revised at the generic level. Four new genera and a remarkable new species are described: Alienostreptus, gen. nov. from Vietnam, Armatostreptus, gen. nov., Heptischius, gen. nov., and Heptischius lactuca, sp. nov. from Thailand, and Prominulostreptus, gen. nov. from China. Agaricogonopus Zhang & Zhang, 1997, is removed from synonymy with Junceustreptus Demange, 1961. All 14 genera of the subfamily share three diagnostic gonopodal characters: the posterior surface of the anterior coxal fold forms a deep concavity, there is a mesal flap on the gonopod coxa, and the posterior coxal fold is very low. A cladistic analysis based on morphological data supports monophyly of Rhynchoproctinae and the distincness of the newly described genera. A dichotomous key to the genera is included.
Acknowledgements
This research was funded by The Thailand Research Fund, The Royal Golden Jubilee Ph.D. Program (PHD/0015/2549). Additional funding was provided to Somsak Panha by the CHE – National Research University Project of Thailand (2010–2012) and by the BRT Program (TRF/BIOTECH-Thailand Biodiversity Research and Training Program) under the BRT-Millipede-Earthworm Project. We thank members of Animal Systematics Research Unit, Chulalongkorn University for assistance in collecting material, and Dr. Verena Stagl and her colleagues for making our visit to NMW such a success. We further extend our thanks to the other curators who provided specimens for our study: Jean-Jacques Geoffroy (MNHN), Janet Beccaloni (NHML), Jonathan Coddington (USNM), Jason A. Dunlop (ZMB), Hieronymus Dastych (ZMH), Sergei I. Golovatch (ZMMU), to Tamás Szüts, Sergey Tarasov (ZMUC) and Piyoros Tongkerd (CUMZ) for help with cladistic analysis, to Yue Yanli (CNU) for translations of Chinese papers, to Thita Krutchuen for excellent drawings, to Uengfa Bantaowong and Nattawadee Nantarat for their helpfulness, and to The Willi Hennig Society for the TNT program.
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