A revision of the millipede family Paracortinidae (Diplopoda, Callipodida)

Abstract

The taxonomy of the family Paracortinidae Wang & Zhang, 1993 is revised based on literature, old and recently collected material. A new genus Crassipetalum Akkari & Stoev, gen. nov. is described, to accommodate a new species Crassipetalum magnum Akkari & Stoev, gen. nov. et sp. nov. and a recently described species Crassipetalum inflatum (Chen, Zheng & Jian, 2023), comb. nov. The genus Scotopetalum Shear, 2000 hitherto described for the Vietnamese species S. warreni Shear, 2000 and subsequently synonymised with the genus Paracortina Wang & Zhang, 1993 is here resurrected and supplemented with another species, S. chinensis (Stoev & Geoffroy, 2004), comb. nov., ex Paracortina chinensis Stoev & Geoffroy, 2004. The status of the fourth genus in the family, Angulifemur Zhang, 1997, is reconfirmed. Based on recently collected specimens from China, two new species of the genus Paracortina are described: P. asciformis Akkari & Stoev, sp. nov. (Sichuan Prov., Lixian County) and P. kabaki Akkari & Stoev, sp. nov. (Yunnan, Shangrila County). The Vietnamese species Paracortina multisegmentata Stoev & Geoffroy, 2004 and Paracortina kyrang Nguyen, Stoev, Nguyen & Vu, 2023 are considered of uncertain taxonomic position within Paracortinidae. Differential diagnoses for the proposed genera as well as for all the species are presented, and descriptions or descriptive notes for all the species are provided, using a standardised terminology, and when possible, accompanied by micrographs of the habitus and gonopod structures. An identification key based on gonopod structures is proposed for all the members of the family. A discussion on species affinities, secondary sexual characters, troglomorphic characters, geographical distribution, and habitat preferences are also provided together with a distribution map for all members of the family.