The fifth element: reconnection of the disjunct distribution of the members of Siphonocryptida (Diplopoda) with the description of a new species from Nepal

Abstract

The fifth species of the millipede order Siphonocryptida, Hirudicryptus quintumelementum sp. nov., is described from Nepal. With this, the surprisingly disjunct distribution of the order with its four former species from Sumatra, the Macaronesian Islands, Malaya and Taiwan, has become connected through the relatively young mountain chains of the Himalayas. The new species shows the typical morphology of the order, with very little variation in external characters (in lack of male specimens). This may be the result of the conservative evolutionary history of the surviving small, widely separated, remnant populations of a once coherent, ancient range. The female vulva of the new species is described, and illustrated for the first time in the order.