Desmoxytes

Desmoxytes
Two Desmoxytes species from China
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Diplopoda
Order: Polydesmida
Family: Paradoxosomatidae
Genus: Desmoxytes
Chamberlin, 1923
Species

c. 30, see text

Synonyms

Hylomus Cook & Loomis, 1924

Desmoxytes, whose species are commonly known as the dragon millipedes, is a genus of millipede of the family Paradoxosomatidae found in southeast Asia. The genus was described by Ralph Vary Chamberlin in 1923 and reviewed by Sergei Golovatch and Henrik Enghoff in 1994.[1] At least twenty-nine species are known from southeastern China to Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.[2] One species, D. planata, has also been observed in Sri Lanka, the Andaman Islands, Seychelles, Java, Great Coco Island, and Fiji; however, this species has expanded its range by being transported through human activity.[1][3] Several species have only recently been discovered and some have yet to be officially described.[3]

Generally, species in this genus are striking in coloration and spiny,[3] although several species are cave-dwelling, and show troglomorphic characters such as pale browinish coloration and long, narrow spines.[4] This genus is unique for its sculptured, ornamented dorsum, and elaborate paranota.[5] The maximum length for a species in this genus is around 3 centimeters (1.2 inches).[3] Species in this genus also have the ability to produce hydrogen cyanide to ward off predators, which can give the dragon millipedes an almondlike smell.[3]

Species

Other than D. planata, each species of dragon millipede is known primarily from only one or a few locations in their country of origin.[3] Additionally, there is one species from Australia, Desmoxytoides hasenpuschorum, which is extremely similar to Desmoxytes but has been split into its own monotypic genus; there is speculation, even by the genus authority for Desmoxytoides, that this split is not necessary.[3] Five species of Desmoxytes, including D. aspera, D. cervaria, D. draco, D. pilosa, and D. spectabilis, were originally placed in the separate genus Hylomus before it was lumped into Desmoxytes.[5][6]

Desmoxytes eupterygota, a troglomorphic species from Hunan Province, China
Desmoxytes purpurosea, the "shocking pink dragon millipede," from Thailand
Binomial names Authority Year Range
Desmoxytes acantherpestes Golovatch & Enghoff 1994  Thailand
Desmoxytes aspera Attems 1937  Vietnam
Desmoxytes cattienensis Nguyen Duc Anh et al. 2005  Vietnam
Desmoxytes cervaria Attems 1953  Vietnam
Desmoxytes cervina Pocock 1895  Myanmar
Desmoxytes cornutus Zhang & Li 1982  People's Republic of China
Desmoxytes delfae Jeekel 1964  Thailand
Desmoxytes draco Cook & Loomis 1924  People's Republic of China
Desmoxytes enghoffi Nguyen Duc Anh et al. 2005  Vietnam
Desmoxytes eupterygota Golovatch et al. 2012  People's Republic of China
Desmoxytes getuhensis Liu, Golovatch & Tian 2014  People's Republic of China
Desmoxytes gigas Golovatch & Enghoff 1994  Thailand
Desmoxytes hostilis Golovatch & Enghoff 1994  Vietnam
Desmoxytes jeekeli Golovatch & Enghoff 1994  Thailand
Desmoxytes lingulata Liu, Golovatch & Tian 2014  People's Republic of China
Desmoxytes longispina Loksa 1960  People's Republic of China
Desmoxytes lui Golovatch et al. 2012  People's Republic of China
Desmoxytes minutuberculata Zhang 1986  People's Republic of China
Desmoxytes nodulosa Liu, Golovatch & Tian 2014  People's Republic of China
Desmoxytes parvula Liu, Golovatch & Tian 2014  People's Republic of China
Desmoxytes pilosa Attems 1937  Vietnam
Desmoxytes planata Pocock 1895 widespread
Desmoxytes proxima Nguyen Duc Anh et al. 2005  Vietnam
Desmoxytes pterygota Golovatch & Enghoff 1994  Thailand
Desmoxytes purpurosea Enghoff, Sutcharit & Panha 2007  Thailand
Desmoxytes rhinoceros Likhitrakarn, Golovatch & Panha 2015  Laos
Desmoxytes rhinoparva Likhitrakarn, Golovatch & Panha 2015  Laos
Desmoxytes rubra Golovatch & Enghoff 1994  Thailand
Desmoxytes scolopendroides Golovatch et al. 2010  People's Republic of China
Desmoxytes scutigeroides Golovatch et al. 2010  People's Republic of China
Desmoxytes specialis Nguyen Duc Anh et al. 2005  Vietnam
Desmoxytes spectabilis Attems 1937  Vietnam
Desmoxytes spinissima Golovatch et al. 2012  People's Republic of China
Desmoxytes taurina Pocock 1895  Myanmar
Desmoxytes terae Jeekel 1964  Malaysia,  Thailand

References

  1. 1 2 Enghoff, Henrik (November 2005). "The millipedes of Thailand (Diplopoda)" (PDF). Steenstrupia (Copenhagen) 29 (1): 87–103. Retrieved 2008-12-16.
  2. Thompson, Christian (2008-12-15). "First Contact in the Greater Mekong" (pdf). World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved 2008-12-16.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Enghoff, Henrik; Sutcharit, Chirasak; Panha, Somsak (2007). "The shocking pink dragon millipede, Desmoxytes purpurosea, a colourful new species from Thailand" (PDF). Zootaxa 1563: 31–36. ISSN 1175-5326. Retrieved 2008-12-16.
  4. Golovatch, Sergei; Li, Youbang; Liu, Weixin; Geoffroy, Jean-Jacques (2012). "Three new cavernicolous species of dragon millipedes, genus Desmoxytes Chamberlin, 1923, from southern China, with notes on a formal congener from the Philippines (Diplopoda, Polydesmida, Paradoxosomatidae)". ZooKeys 185 (0): 1. doi:10.3897/zookeys.185.3082.
  5. 1 2 Shelley, Rowland; Selena Bauer (1998). "The Milliped Family Paradoxosomatidae in the Hawaiian Islands (Diplopoda: Polydesmida)" (PDF). Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 56: 48–49. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
  6. "Zoo 111". Universität Ulm & Ruhr-Universität Bochum. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
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