A revision of the taxonomy and distribution of Spirostreptus Brandt 1833 (Diplopoda, Spirostreptida, Spirostreptidae) with descriptions of a new species and a new genus of spirostreptid millipede

Abstract

The giant millipede genus Spirostreptus Brandt 1833 is revised to include six species from Africa, south of the Congo River. The six species formerly included in the genus were S. heros Porat 1872, S. kruegeri Attems 1928, S. sebae Brandt 1833, S. tripartitus (Cook & Collins 1893), S. unciger Attems 1928 and S. kymatorhabdus Attems 1914. Spirostreptus kymatorhabdus is here removed from Spirostreptus and accommodated in the new genus Namibostreptus. A new species, S. batokensis Mwabvu from Zimbabwe, is described. A key to the species of Spirostreptus species based on gonopod morphology is presented. Despite the remarkable similarity between the gonopods of S. heros and S. kruegeri, the two species are distinct. Spirostreptus has strict fidelity to the savanna biome, with overlapping distributions of species, thus making conservation of many species in one biome possible.