Two remarkable new species of Penicillata (Diplopoda, Polyxenida) from Table Mountain National Park (Cape Town, South Africa)

By

Nguyen Duy-Jacquemin, Monique
Uys, Charmaine
Geoffroy, Jean-Jacques

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2011

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

156

Pages

85-103

Subjects

barbate trichomes , Diplopoda , new species , Phryssonotus , Polyxenidae , postembryonic development , Propolyxenus , scales , South Africa , Synxenidae

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.156.2211

 

Abstract

Two new species of the families Polyxenidae and Synxenidae, are described from Table Mountain National Park, South Africa. Propolyxenus squamatus sp. n. (Polyxenidae) has tergites I–X mostly covered by scale–shaped trichomes directed caudally, a character previously known only in Synxenidae. The structure of scale–shaped dorsal trichomes is different to that of the scales in Phryssonotus and Condexenus species. Phryssonotus brevicapensis sp. n. (Synxenidae) is the only known species of the genus Phryssonotus11 tergites, (including collum and telson) and 15 pairs of legs, as in Condexenus biramipalpus Nguyen Duy–Jacquemin, 2006. These two species therefore appear to occupy an intermediate position between Phryssonotus (12 tergites) and Polyxenoidea (maximum of 11 tergites).