A contribution on the Middle American milliped family Rhachodesmidae (Polydesmida: Leptodesmidea: Rhachodesmoidea): description of Tiphallus torreon n. sp., the first species from Coahuila, Mexico; first records from Belize; and depiction of the (super)familial distribution

Authors

Rowland M. Shelley, North Carolina State Museum of Natural SciencesFollow
Ancelmo Orona Espino, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas-UJEDFollow
Miguel Ángel Gallegos Robles, Facultad de Agricultura y Zootecnia-UJEDFollow

Date of this Version

2015

Citation

Insecta Mundi 0423: 1–10

Comments

Published in 2015 by Center for Systematic Entomology, Inc. P. O. Box 141874 Gainesville, FL 32614-1874 USA http://centerforsystematicentomology.org/. Copyright held by the author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons, Attribution Non-Commercial License

Abstract

Tiphallus torreon n. sp., the first rhachodesmid milliped from Coahuila, Mexico, displays an iridescent turquoise pigmentation with patterned white paranotal markings and a truncated, subapical projection from the broad, non-descript gonopodal acropodite. Four genera – Strongylodesmus Saussure, Mexidesmus Loomis, and Ceuthauxus and Tiphallus, both by Chamberlin – contain forms exhibiting this general condition, but the last is the only one whose type species does. Synthetic treatments are essential to advance familial knowledge beyond the descriptive stage, and revising these four taxa would constitute a meaningful initial study. Rhachodesmidae extend from northern Nuevo León, Mexico, ca. 77 km (48 mi) from the Rio Grande, to central Costa Rica; Glomeridae (Glomerida), Platydesmidae (Platydesmida), and Stemmiulidae (Stemmiulida) show similar distributions whereas Allopocockiidae (Spirobolida) and Rhysodesmus Cook (Polydesmida: Xystodesmidae) traverse the river and occupy southernmost Texas. Tridontomidae, the other component of Rhachodesmoidea, occupies a small enclave in Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. Rhachodesmidae/oidea do not occur in Panama and are initially recorded from Belize; localities are needed from Honduras.