Abstract
We redescribe the poorly known Chinese millipede Skleroprotopusmembranipedalis Zhang, 1985 recorded from Shi-Hua (Stone Flower) Cave, Fangshan County, Beijing. The species’ original description is in Chinese in an obscure outlet which significantly hampers its recognition from its congeners. Here, based on newly collected material, we provide the first scanning electron micrographs of important taxonomic traits. In addition to its type locality, we report the species also from Yun-Shui (Cloud Water) Cave, situated in the same county, some 18 km away. We propose the genus Senbutudoiulus Miyosi, 1957 to be a junior subjective synonym of Skleroprotopus Attems, 1901, syn. n., and introduce the following new combination: Skleroprotopusplatypodus (Miyosi, 1957), comb. n. (former Senbutudoiulus).
Highlights
The eastern Asian julidan family Mongoliulidae is currently known to comprise 8 genera and 36 species, as recently reviewed by Enghoff et al (2017). Twenty of these species are described under Skleroprotopus Attems, 1901 making it by far the largest genus within the family, with a distribution range including northeastern China, the Russian Far East (Primorskiy Province), the Korean Peninsula, and Japan
Many Skleroprotopus species are supposed local endemics known only from their original descriptions. This is the case with S. membranipedalis Zhang, 1985 described from Shi-Hua (Stone Flower) Cave, Fangshan County, Beijing, the original description of which is in Chinese, with rather crude line drawings which hamper its recognition
We here provide an emended description of S. membranipedalis based on both recently collected topotypic material and specimens from the Cloud Water Cave, and present a brief overview of the genus Skleroprotopus
Summary
The eastern Asian julidan family Mongoliulidae is currently known to comprise 8 genera and 36 species, as recently reviewed by Enghoff et al (2017). Shi-Hua Cave, known as Qian-Zhen Cave and Shi-Fo Cave, is located on the south bank of Da-Shi River in Fang-Shan Mountain, Fang-Shan World Geological park, approximately 50 km southwest of Beijing. It is the largest limestone cave in northern China, and the one with the richest deposits of secondary carbonate sediments. The stratum of Yun-Shui was developed from epicontinental sea deposits 1000 MYA, and, similar to Shi-Hua, the cave itself was shaped during the Neogene (Lü 2007). The stalactites of Yun-Shui were formed after the Medio-Pleistocene (Lü 2007, Lü et al 2010)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
