A new cave‐dwelling millipede of the genus Bollmania Silvestri, 1896 from Yunnan, China, with remarks on the reduction of the second female leg‐pair (Diplopoda: Callipodida: Caspiopetalidae)

Abstract

Bollmania beroni sp. n., described from a cave in Jianshui County, Yunnan, China is the first true troglo‐ and hygrophilic species in the genus. The new locality extends the range of Bollmania ca 2500 km towards SE, ca 1700 km SW of the only other Chinese record. Notes are given on B. orientalis (Silvestri, 1895), B. nodifrons Lohmander, 1933 and B. oblonga Golovatch, 1979, based on new material from Turkmenistan and Tajikistan, and on two unnamed, probably new species from Afghanistan. An updated key to the eight described species is presented. Original observations and illustrations of second female legs in various callipodid genera are presented, along with a literature review of this character, which has so far received little attention from taxonomists.

Keywords:

• Bollmania
• Callipodida
• China
• Diplopoda
• taxonomy
• Yunnan

Acknowledgements

Dr Ted von Proschwitz (Göteborg) and Dr Sergei Golovatch (Moscow) helped with the loan of unidentified material. We are especially obligated to S. Golovatch for advising on localities in Tajikistan and for commenting on the final version of the manuscript, and to R. M. Shelley (Raleigh, NC, USA) for studying female North American callipodids on our request. Dr Jean‐Jacques Geoffroy (Paris) helped in obtaining some obscure literature. Dr Petar Beron (NMNHS) shared unpublished information on the fauna of the Yan Dong Cave. Fani Bozarova (NMNHS) inked the illustrations and G. Brovad (ZMUC) provided photographs. Part of the work was undertaken with support from the European Commission's programme “Transnational Access to Major Research Infrastructures” to P.S. for a month's stay at COBICE (Copenhagen Biosystematics Centre).