Abstract
A new fossil species of pyrgodesmid millipede (Polydesmida: Pyrgodesmidae) placed in the genus Myrmecodesmus Silvestri, 1910 is described. The type materials are two amber inclusions, male and female specimens that come from Miocene strata in Chiapas, Mexico. Myrmecodesmus antiquus sp. nov. has collum with 10 dorsal tubercles; without porosteles or ozopores; legs of the rings 2–9 with a short projection on the prefemur in both the female and male. Myrmecodesmus antiquus sp. nov is the first fossil record of the genus Myrmecodesmus. This is a New World taxon that belongs to the pantropical family Pyrgodesmidae. Thus, Myrmecodesmus antiquus sp. nov expands the range of the genus to the Miocene tropics in Middle America.
Highlights
The polydesmid millipedes of the family Pyrgodesmidae currently show a Pantropical distribution (Enghoff et al, 2015)
The fossil record is limited to amber inclusions from Miocene deposits of the Dominican Republic and Mexico (Shear, 1981; SantiagoBlay & Poinar, 1992; Riquelme & Hernández-Patricio, 2018)
Fossil specimens of Dominican amber have been assigned to the genera Docodesmus Cook, 1896a, Iomus Cook, 1911, Lophodesmus Pocock, 1894 and Psochodesmus Cook, 1896b (Shear, 1981; SantiagoBlay & Poinar, 1992), and the only fossil specimen described at the species level that is known so far is Docodesmus brodzinskyi Shear, 1981
Summary
The polydesmid millipedes of the family Pyrgodesmidae currently show a Pantropical distribution (Enghoff et al, 2015). Fossil specimens of Dominican amber have been assigned to the genera Docodesmus Cook, 1896a, Iomus Cook, 1911, Lophodesmus Pocock, 1894 and Psochodesmus Cook, 1896b (Shear, 1981; SantiagoBlay & Poinar, 1992), and the only fossil specimen described at the species level that is known so far is Docodesmus brodzinskyi Shear, 1981 Another fossil pyrgodesmid was found in Chiapas amber, Mexico, a female specimen identified as CPAL.117 by Riquelme & Hernández-Patricio (2018), which was initially included as a new member of the genus Myrmecodesmus within Pyrgodesmidae. Illustrations, and a discussion of related taxa
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