The millipede genus Mandarinopus Verhoeff, 1933, is a junior synonym of Kronopolites Attems, 1914 (Polydesmida, Paradoxosomatidae), with a revision of the species based on integrated evidence

2026/01/29 by Yuan Xiong, Huiming CHEN, Luqi Huang +2 · 1 voice
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Collembola Taxonomy and Ecology Studies #Marine Biology and Ecology Research #Subterranean biodiversity and taxonomy

paper · doi:10.3897/zse.102.180695

openalex publication_date 2026/01/29 · openalex created_date 2026/01/30 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/02

Abstract

The millipede genus Mandarinopus Verhoeff, 1933 (Sulciferini, Paradoxosomatidae), endemic to western China, currently comprises five species. Its taxonomic delimitation from Kronopolites Attems, 1914, remains controversial because of morphological similarity and overlapping distributions. Previous studies relying exclusively on morphological characters yielded ambiguous results. To clarify the taxonomic status of Mandarinopus , we conducted an integrative taxonomic study using topotypic specimens of all species of Mandarinopus and representative species of Kronopolites . Phylogenetic analyses based on four genetic markers (COI, 16S, 18S, and 28S rRNA) reveal that Mandarinopus is polyphyletic and deeply nested within Kronopolites . Notably, the type species of both genera form a strongly supported sister pair. Morphological re-examination demonstrates that the diagnostic characters previously used to distinguish the genera, specifically gonopodal features, are continuous and lack clear boundaries. Consequently, we formally propose Mandarinopus Verhoeff, 1933, as a junior synonym of Kronopolites Attems, 1914, transferring all valid Mandarinopus species to Kronopolites . Additionally, based on morphological and molecular evidence from topotypic material, we propose Kronopolites rugosus Golovatch, 2013, as a junior synonym of Kronopolites corticinus (Attems, 1936).

Citations

• MEGA X: Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis across Computing Platforms
• MITOS: Improved de novo metazoan mitochondrial genome annotation
• Survey of Branch Support Methods Demonstrates Accuracy, Power, and Robustness of Fast Likelihood-based Approximation Schemes
• IQ-TREE: A Fast and Effective Stochastic Algorithm for Estimating Maximum-Likelihood Phylogenies
• MrBayes 3.2: Efficient Bayesian Phylogenetic Inference and Model Choice Across a Large Model Space
• GetOrganelle: a fast and versatile toolkit for accurate de novo assembly of organelle genomes

Discussions

• Two millipede groups in Western China are finally getting their family tree sorted out. 🐛 In this study, the genus Mandarinopus is formally proposed as a junior synonym of Kronopolites: doi.org/10.3 [bsky, 1 points, 0 comments]

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