2026/05/07 by Tiziano Golles, Jehoon Yoo, THOMAS WESENER · 1 voice
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Marine Biology and Ecology Research #Protist diversity and phylogeny #Subterranean biodiversity and taxonomy
paper · doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5807.1.4
openalex publication_date 2026/05/07 · openalex created_date 2026/05/08 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/08
Madagascar’s microendemism is not restricted to large rainforests, but also still exists in small, isolated fragments of natural vegetation. One such fragment is the Lavasoa-Ambatotsirongorongo protected area in southeastern Madagascar, where less than 92 ha of humid forest continue to face deforestation, but to which several species are endemic and critically endangered, including three species of millipedes. Here, we describe Alafanahydesmus lavasoa gen. nov., sp. nov. (Polydesmida: Dalodesmidae), a locally endemic Polydesmida only found in the Lavasoa-Ambatotsirongorongo area. With our here described addition, Polydesmida remain rare on Madagascar, with only four genera and nine known species, all belonging to the family Dalodesmidae. Alafanahydesmus lavasoa gen. nov., sp. nov. shares its small size (10–25 mm) and light/brown colouration with Dalodesmus Cook, 1896, Eutubercularium Brölemann, 1916, and Phymatodesmus de Saussure & Zehntner, 1897, but differs conspicuously in somatic (paraterga projecting weakly before tergite 6, elongated shape of metatergal tubercles, paraprocts (pa) with dorsal setose knobs) and sexual characters (stoutly fused femorites and a unique five-branched gonopod with a retrorse branch). Here, we describe Alafanahydesmus lavasoa gen. nov., sp. nov. integratively, providing the first molecular data for Malagasy Dalodesmidae—via partial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) sequences (GenBank PX922879–PX922581) and pioneer the first microcomputed tomography (μCT) images for a member of the family, alongside with multilayer photographs and scanning electron microscopy images.