millipede

Four new species of the millipede genus Nepalmatoiulus Mauris, 1983 (Julida, Julidae) are described from high-altitude areas of Yunnan Province in China: N. angustus sp. nov., N. arcuatus sp. nov., N. belousovi sp. nov. and N. kabaki sp. nov. A new faunistic record for the Laojunshan Mts. is given for N. emarginatus Mikhaljova, 2020. A brief overview of the Yunnan Nepalmatoiulus species is given. Taxonomic remarks are provided for nearly all new species.

Wupedeviridae is a family of negative-sense RNA viruses with genomes of about 20.5 kb that have been found in myriapods. The wupedevirid genome consists of three monocistronic RNA segments with open reading frames (ORFs) that encode a nucleoprotein (NP), a glycoprotein (GP), and a large (L) protein containing an RNA-directed RNA polymerase (RdRP) domain. This is a summary of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) Report on the family Wupedeviridae , which is available at ictv.global/report/wupedeviridae...

The ability to enrol for protection is an effective defensive strategy that has convergently evolved multiple times in disparate animal groups ranging from euarthropods to mammals. Enrolment is a staple habit of trilobites, and their biomineralized dorsal exoskeleton offered a versatile substrate for the evolution of interlocking devices. However, it is unknown whether trilobites also featured ventral adaptations for enrolment. Here, we report ventral exoskeletal adaptations that facilitate enrolment in exceptionally preserved trilobites from the Middle Ordovician Walcott-Rust Quarry in New York State, USA...

Three types of luminescence have been reported in living organisms: bioluminescence (BL), ultraweak chemiluminescence and biofluorescence (FL). In millipedes, both BL and FL have been reported in Motyxia sequoiae and related Xystodesmidae species. Noteworthy, when walking at night with a UV lantern at the Biological Station of Highlands, I found three blue-fluorescent millipedes (Deltotaria brimleii, Deltotoria sp and Euryus orestes) that also displayed phosphorescence after turning off the UV source. The phosphorescence of the cuticle was in the green region (λmax  = 525 nm)...

Methane emission by terrestrial invertebrates is restricted to millipedes, termites, cockroaches, and scarab beetles. The arthropod-associated archaea known to date belong to the orders Methanobacteriales, Methanomassiliicoccales, Methanomicrobiales , and Methanosarcinales , and in a few cases also to non-methanogenic Nitrososphaerales and Bathyarchaeales . However, all major host groups are severely undersampled, and the taxonomy of existing lineages is not well developed. Full-length 16S rRNA gene sequences and genomes of arthropod-associated archaea are scarce, reference databases lack resolution, and the names of many taxa are either not validly published or under-classified and require revision...

Inversotyphlus Strasser, 1962, stat. nov. is raised to the genus level and a new hydrophilous species, Inversotyphlusammirandus sp. nov. , is described from the second deepest pit in Albania. This species is characterized by a highly modified head and body for a presumably semiaquatic or hygropetric life and filtering diet. It is by far the most bizarrely modified cave-dwelling julid known. The new species is diagnosed, described in detail, and richly illustrated. Besides I.ammirandus sp. nov. , the genus Inversotyphlus stat...

INTRODUCTION: Millipedes can avoid obstacle while navigating complex environments with their multi-segmented body. Biological evidence indicates that when the millipede navigates around an obstacle, it first bends the anterior segments of its corresponding anterior segment of its body, and then gradually propagates this body bending mechanism from anterior to posterior segments. Simultaneously, the stride length between pairs of legs inside the bending curve decreases to coordinate the leg motions with the bending mechanism of the body segments...

Metacommunity theory has advanced scientific understanding of how species interactions and spatial processes influence patterns of biodiversity and community structure across landscapes. While the central tenets of metacommunity theory have been promoted as pivotal considerations for conservation management, few field experiments have tested the validity of metacommunity predictions. Here, we tested one key prediction of metacommunity theory-that decreasing habitat connectivity should erode metacommunity structure by hindering species movement between patches...

Aldoxime (R1R2C = NOH) and nitrile (R - C≡N) are nitrogen-containing compounds that are found in species representing all kingdoms of life. The enzymes discovered from the microbial "aldoxime-nitrile" pathway (aldoxime dehydratase, nitrile hydratase, amidase, and nitrilase) have been thoroughly studied because of their industrial importance. Although plants utilize cytochrome P450 monooxygenases to produce aldoxime and nitrile, many biosynthetic pathways have yet to be studied. Cyanogenic millipedes accumulate various nitrile compounds, such as mandelonitrile...

Millipedes are key players in recycling leaf litter into soil in tropical ecosystems. To elucidate their gut microbiota, we collected millipedes from different municipalities of Puerto Rico. Here we aim to benchmark which method is best for metagenomic skimming of this highly complex millipede microbiome. We sequenced the gut DNA with Oxford Nanopore Technologies' (ONT) MinION sequencer, then analyzed the data using MEGAN-LR , Kraken2 protein mode, Kraken2 nucleotide mode, GraphMap , and Minimap2 to classify these long ONT reads...

Our planet endures a progressive increase in artificial light at night (ALAN), which affects virtually all species, and thereby biodiversity. Mitigation strategies include reducing its intensity and duration, and the adjustment of light spectrum using modern light emitting diode (LED) light sources. Here, we studied ground-dwelling invertebrate (predominantly insects, arachnids, molluscs, millipedes, woodlice and worms) diversity and community composition after 3 or 4 years of continued nightly exposure (every night from sunset to sunrise) to experimental ALAN with three different spectra (white-, and green- and red-dominated light), as well as for a dark control, in natural forest-edge habitat...

Species in Ectrichodiinae are known for their prey specialization on millipedes. However, knowledge of the morphological adaptations to this unique feeding habit was limited. In the current study, we examined the microstructures of the antennae, mouthparts, and legs of four millipede feeding ectrichodiines, Ectrychotes andreae (Thunberg, 1888), Haematoloecha limbata Miller, 1953, Labidocoris pectoralis (Stål, 1863), and Neozirta eidmanni (Taueber, 1930), and compared them with those of three species of tribelocephalines, a group closely related to Ectrichodiinae...

A new species of the giant pill millipede genus Sphaerobelum is described: Sphaerobelumturcosa sp. nov. from the northeastern part of Thailand. Species delimitation is based on morphological characters and COI sequence data. The new species can be clearly discriminated from congeners by its greenish-blue body color, the face mask-like appearance of the thoracic and anal shields jointly when rolled up, and the combination of the following four characters: (1) the coxa of the second leg laterally with a sharp and long process, (2) the tarsi of legs 4-21 with 6-7 ventral spines, (3) the anterior telopods consisting of four conspicuous telopoditomeres, and (4) the immovable, slender (not strongly humped) and distally curved finger of the posterior telopods without a membranous spot...

We investigated the diet of cane toads ( Rhinella marina ) inhabiting urbanized areas in southwest Florida to provide high taxonomic resolution of prey items, contrast toad diets between sampling seasons and sexes, and assess this invasive species' ecological role in the urban landscape. A pest control agency collected cane toads from two golf course communities in Naples, Florida, USA during November-December 2018 (early dry season) and June-July 2019 (early wet season), and faunal stomach contents were quantified from a random subsample of 240 adult toads (30 males and 30 females from each community and season)...

This paper reports on a new species of mite of the genus Julolaelaps Berlese in Republic of Korea. Females and males of a new species, Julolaelapsgigas sp. nov. , were collected on a captive giant African millipede, Archispirostreptusgigas (Spirostreptida: Spirostreptidae). The new species is described and illustrated based on morphological characters of the adult females and males and compared with known congeners. This new species is the first record of Julolaelaps from Republic of Korea. In addition, an updated key to all known species of the genus is presented...

Our understanding of genital evolution comes largely from studies of male genitalia. Females have received far less attention because of the difficulties inherent in quantifying the shapes of their internal genital structures. Here we combine advances in micro-computed tomography with a new landmark free method of quantifying three-dimensional trait shape, to document patterns of divergence in female genital shape, and the correlated divergence of male genitalia among populations of the millipede Antichiropus variabilis...

Pain in response to tissue damage functions to change behaviour so that further damage is minimised whereas healing and survival are promoted. This paper focuses on the behavioural criteria that match the function to ask if pain is likely in the main taxa of arthropods. There is evidence consistent with the idea of pain in crustaceans, insects and, to a lesser extent, spiders. There is little evidence of pain in millipedes, centipedes, scorpions, and horseshoe crabs but there have been few investigations of these groups...

Three new closely coexisting species of the millipede genus Nepalmatoiulus Mauriès, 1983 are described from China: Nepalmatoiulus alternus sp. nov. and Nepalmatoiulus simultaneus sp. nov. from Laojunshan, as well as Nepalmatoiulus tuoxiaensis, sp. nov. (coexisting species is Nepalmatoiulus parvulus Mikhaljova, 2020) from Deqin. Their sympatry and coexistence are discussed. Morphological variability of the anterior gonopods in two of the new species is revealed.

The present paper is dedicated to the description of the monospecific pachyiuline genus Karadenizia gen. nov. with the type species K. merti sp. nov. from Erçek Cave near the southern coast of the Black Sea in Turkey. In addition to the diagnosis and detailed description, brief notes on the locality and known ecology of this taxon are given. The relationship of this genus with some other pachyiulines is discussed based on the structure of the gonopods and some somatic features. The interesting colouration of the new taxon allows a brief discussion and hypothesis on the possible defensive role of such a colour pattern, which is also known in some other millipedes...

Millipedes of the family Siphonorhinidae Cook, 1895, famous for including the leggiest animal on this planet until recently, with up to 750 legs, show a disjunct distribution in California, South Africa and South-East Asia (from India to the Indonesian Islands of Java and Flores). Here I formally describe the first members of the family from Madagascar, Madagascarhinus madagascariensis n. gen., n. sp. and Madagascarhinus andasibensis n. gen., n. sp., from degraded central highland rainforests. Both species of Madagascarhinus n...