Unexplored richness: discovery of 31 new species of Giant Pill-Millipedes endemic to Madagascar, with a special emphasis on microendemism (Diplopoda, Sphaerotheriida)

Abstract

Thirty-one new species of giant pill-millipedes (order Sphaerotheriida) endemic to Madagascar are described: Zoosphaerium haackeri n. sp., Z. album n. sp., Z. discolor n. sp., Z. mitoho n. sp., Z. pulchellum n. sp., Z. endemicum n. sp., Z. xerophilum n. sp., Z. aureum n. sp., Z. pseudopriapus n. sp., Z. pseudoplatylabum n. sp., Z. solitarium n. sp., Z. tsingy n. sp., Z. corystoides n. sp., Z. broelemanni n. sp., Z. amabile n. sp., Z. trichordum n. sp., Z. smaragdinum n. sp., Z. ambrense n. sp., Z. isalo n. sp., Z. bilobum n. sp., Z. tampolo n. sp., Z. ignotum n. sp., Z. tainkintana n. sp., Z. viridissimum n. sp., Z. denticulatum n. sp., Z. pseudoblandum n. sp., Z. micropiligerum n. sp., Z. pseudopiligerum n. sp., Z. analavelona n. sp. and Z. fisheri n. sp., and Microsphaerotherium anjozorobe n. sp.. Twenty-eight of the Zoosphaerium species already fit into established species-groups. A key to all 55 recognizable Malagasy Sphaerotheriida species is given. Forty-two of the 55 giant pill-millipede species are ecosystem endemics, while 26 are geographically microendemic. The number of microendemic species is disproportionately distributed among Malagasy ecosystems. All 13 species restricted to the montane rainforest as well as all five species restricted to the Eastern littoral forest are microendemic. On the other hand, only two out of seven dry forest species, one out of seven rainforest species and one out of five spiny forest species are microendemics. A special emphasis is placed on two species endemic to the unique Western rainforest site of Analavelona, which is currently not protected.

Three new species of Grosphus Simon 1880, (Scorpiones: Buthidae) from Madagascar; possible vicariant cases within the Grosphus bistriatus group of species

“…The vegetation is growing with the typical habitus encountered in places with regular and strong winds, and the trees, growing in sand, are extremely short. Cap Sainte-Marie is also known to host at least three species of diplopodes, Zoosphaerium haackeri Wesener 2009, Z. libidinosum (de Saussure and Zehnter 1897) and Riotintobolus anomalus Wesener, Enghoff and Sierwald 2009 (Wesener 2009. It is not yet known why and how the setting at Cap Sainte-Marie is favourable for these scorpions and possibly other invertebrates, but this small reserve at the southern tip of Madagascar certainly deserves further studies, as well as full protection.…”

Four new species of the millipede genus Eutrichodesmus Silvestri, 1910 from Laos, including two with reduced ozopores (Diplopoda, Polydesmida, Haplodesmidae)

“…Since the bulk of global millipede diversity is confined to tropical forest, which is a rapidly shrinking biome, and because diplopods are poor dispersers that are largely confined to forests and woodlands, and are prone to strongly localized endemism (e.g. Wesener 2009; Car and Harvey 2014; Enghoff 2015), the problem of documenting millipede faunas is increasingly acute (Golovatch and Kime 2009). These localized occurrences make millipede species important subjects for biogeographic studies (Stoev and Enghoff 2003; Wesener et al 2010; Wesener et al 2011), but also put them at risk of local extinction from human activities such as forest destruction or large-scale mining operations (Wesener and Wägele 2007; Iniesta et al 2012).…”

Habitat corridor utilization by the gray mouse lemur, <i>Microcebus murinus</i>, in the littoral forest fragments of southeastern Madagascar

“…These habitats are of great biological importance due to their floral diversity. They contain 1 3% of Madagascar's plant diversity, with at least 40 plant species endemic to Fort Dauphin's littoral forests alongside various endemic and threatened fauna species (Consiglio et al 2006, Lowry et al 2008, Wesener 2009). These forest fragments are thought to be too small for the survival of viable populations of most forest-dependent vertebrate species (Ganzhorn et al 2000, Watson et al 2004.…”