Abstract
The chromosomes of the cave millipede Pseudonannolene strinatii Mauriès, 1974 were investigated. The diploid chromosome number was found to be 2n=16, XX/XY; the C-banding technique revealed a large amount of heterochromatin while the silver staining technique (Ag-NOR) evidenced the presence of heteromorphism of the NORs in some cells.
Highlights
Pseudonannolene Silvestri, 1895 is the only representative of the family Pseudonannolenidae in Brazil
In Acanthopetalum sicanum (Berlese, 1883) (Callipodida), heterochromatin comprises 60% and 56% of the genome in females and males, respectively, while in Enologus oxypygum (Julida), 67% of the total genome of either males or females is represented by heterochromatin
Taking into account that an accumulation of heterochromatin of up to 40 or 50% of the genome has been considered exceptional for other groups of animals, such as insects and amphibians (PETITPIERRE et al, 1988; SCHMID et al, 1995), the percentage observed in diplopods is considerable
Summary
Pseudonannolene Silvestri, 1895 is the only representative of the family Pseudonannolenidae in Brazil. For 35 species of Pseudonannolene, eight are found in caves across the different speleological provinces of the country and most of these species are considered troglophiles (TRAJANO et al, 2000). Pseudonannolene strinatii Mauriès, 1974 lives in many caves of the Speleological Province of the Ribeira River Valley in southern State São Paulo and northern State Paraná (MAURIÈS, 1974; TRAJANO et al, 2000). FONTANETTI et al (2002) recorded seven species of Pseudonannolene cytogenetically studied and cytogenetic studies in diplopods have increased considerably during recent years, only about 80 species of millipedes have been studied so far, which is still a small number when compared to the 10,500 species described for this group. The aim is to describe the karyotype of P. strinatti in order to contribute for cytogenetics comprehension in millipedes
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