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Golovatch S.I.1, Korotaeva A.M.2 2023. On a collection of the millipede family Platyrhacidae from Peru (Diplopoda: Polydesmida) // Arthropoda Selecta. Vol.32. No.3: 239–249 [in English].

1 Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky prospekt 33, Moscow, 119071, Russia. E-mail: sgolovatch@yandex.ru

2 Institute of Biology and Chemistry, Moscow State Pedagogical University, Zoology and Ecology Department, Moscow, 129164 Russia. E-mail: alenacorotaeva2017@mail.ru

doi: 10.15298/arthsel.32.3.02

ABSTRACT. The collection of large-sized Platy­rhacidae from Peru, kept in the Zoological Museum in Moscow, Russia, presently contains four species. Three of them belong to the very large genus Barydesmus Cook, 1896, and one to the somewhat less diverse Psammodesmus Cook, 1896. Two Barydesmus come from the Andes of Selva Alta in central Peru, identified as B. cf. azulae (Kraus, 1956) and B. melniki sp.n. The former species differs from the typical B. azulae (Kraus, 1956), from northern Peru, by the monochromous black-brown or light beige colouration. The new species B. melniki sp.n. is distinguished from its 52 presently named congeners by the peculiar bichromous colouration, in which the head, prozonae, strictures between pro- and metazonae, entire metazonae and most of the telson are dark grey-brown, all conspicuously contrasting to the whitish to light yellowish paraterga, legs and hypoproct. In addition, the gonopodal telopodite is highly characteristic through a particularly long prefemorite and a considerably shortened and suberect acropodite, the latter bearing a regularly rounded tip only slightly curved mesad. One more Barydesmus, B. loretus (Chamberlin, 1941), as well as Psammodesmus cf. chuncho (Chamberlin, 1941), both from Peruvuan Amazonia, are also described and properly illustrated. Barydesmus loretus is recorded from near the delta of Rio Maraсon for the first time, thus providing a very considerable range extension of this species along that river. Psammodesmus cf. chuncho, albeit coming from near Iquitos, the type locality of P. chuncho, differs from the nominate species primarily by a longer and sigmoid solenomere.

KEY WORDS: taxonomy, new species, distribution, iconography.

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