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{{Short description|Genus of millipedes}}
{{Taxobox
{{Automatic taxobox
| image = S.musicus (2).JPG
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| image = Sphaeromimus andohahela.jpg
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| image_caption = ''Sphaeromimus andohahela''
| phylum = [[Arthropod]]a
| taxon = Sphaeromimus
| subphylum = [[Myriapoda]]
| authority = [[Henri Louis Frédéric de Saussure|Saussure]] & [[Leo Zehntner|Zehntner]], 1902
| classis = [[Millipede|Diplopoda]]
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| subdivision_ranks = Species
| superordo = [[Pill millipede|Oniscomorpha]]
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| subdivision = See text
| ordo = [[Sphaerotheriida]]
| ordo_authority = [[Johann Friedrich von Brandt|Brandt]], 1833
| familia = [[Arthrosphaeridae]]
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| genus = '''''Sphaeromimus'''''
| genus_authority = [[de Saussure and Zehnter]], 1902
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| subdivision_ranks = [[Species]]
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| subdivision =
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''[[Sphaeromimus musicus|S. musicus]]''<br>
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''[[Sphaeromimus inexpectatus|S. inexpectatus]]''<br>
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''[[Sphaeromimus splendidus|S. splendidus]]''<br>
''
}}
}}


'''''Sphaeromimus''''' is a genus of [[giant pill millipedes]] (order [[Sphaerotheriida]]) endemic to southeastern [[Madagascar]].<ref name=WP>{{cite journal |author=T. Wesener & P. Sierwald |year=2005 |title= New giant pill millipede species from the littoral forest of Madagascar (Diplopoda, Sphaerotheriida, Zoosphaerium) |journal=[[Zootaxa]] |volume=1097 |pages=1–60 |url=http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2005f/zt01097p060.pdf |format=[[Portable Document Format|PDF]]}}</ref> The genus was first described by [[Henry de Saussure]] and Leo Zehntner in 1902.<ref>{{cite journal |author= H. DeSaussure and L. Zehnter |year=1902 |title= Myriapodes de Madagascar |journal=[[In Grandidier, Histoire, physique, naturelle, et politique de Madagascar ]] |volume=27 |pages=i-vii, 1-356, pl. 13, 14, 15}}</ref>, but until 2005 was only know from a single male, whose appearance was so unusual that the authors thought it might represent a mislabeled giant pill-millipede from India.<ref>{{cite journal |author=C. A. W Jeekel |year=1999 |title= A new pill-millipede from Madagascar, with a catalogue of the species hitherto described from the island (Diplopoda- Sphaerotheriida) |journal=[[Myriapod Memoranda ]] |volume=I |pages=5–21}}</ref> It belongs to the [[family]] [[Arthrosphaeridae]] which, besides ''Sphaeromimus'' includes the Malagasy genera, ''[[Zoosphaerium]]'' and ''[[Microsphaerotherium]]'' and the Indian genus ''[[Arthrosphaera]]''.<ref name=WS> {{cite journal |author=T. Wesener & D. van den Spiegel |year=2009 |title= A first phylogenetic analysis of Giant Pill-Millipedes (Diplopoda: Sphaerotheriida), a new model Gondwanan taxon, with special emphasis on island gigantism |journal=[[Cladistics]] |volume=25 |pages=545-573}}</ref> Recent research has shown that ''Sphaeromimus'' is more closely related to the Indian genus ''Arthrosphaera'' than to other Malagasy genera.<ref name=WS/> Three species have been described within ''Sphaeromimus'', [[S. musicus|''S. musicus'']], ''[[S. splendidus]]'', and ''[[S. inexpectatus]]'', although some undescribed species have been found recently.<ref name=WP/> All populations inhabit the leaf litter of the Malagasy [[rainforests]], except for one undescribed species which was found in a [[cave]] and the [[type species]] ''S. musicus'' which has only been found in the dry [[spiny forest]]. Recent research has shown that ''Sphaeromimus'' [[populations]] are highly endemic since individuals are not able to travel between forest patches. Movement between populations is becoming more limited since forest is being destroyed at a rapid rate on Madagascar.
'''''Sphaeromimus''''' ([[Latin]]: sphere mimic),<ref name=snc>{{cite web|last1=de Lazaro |first1=Enrico |title=Seven New Species of Chirping Giant Pill-Millipedes Discovered in Madagascar |url=http://www.sci-news.com/biology/science-chirping-giant-pill-millipedes-madagascar-02012.html |publisher=Sci-News.com | date= June 23, 2014 |accessdate=15 July 2014}}</ref> or the '''chirping giant pill millipedes''', is a genus of giant pill millipedes (order [[Sphaerotheriida]]) endemic to southeastern [[Madagascar]].<ref name=WP>{{cite journal |author=T. Wesener & P. Sierwald |year=2005 |title= The giant pill-millipedes of Madagascar: Revision of the genus ''Sphaeromimus'' with a review of the morphological terminology (Diplopoda, Sphaerotheriida, Sphaerotheriidae) |journal=Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences |volume=56 |pages=557–599 |url=http://research.calacademy.org/research/scipubs/pdfs/v56/proccas_v56_n29.pdf }}</ref> Though described in 1902,<ref>{{cite book |author= H. de Saussure and L. Zehnter |year=1902 |title= Myriapodes de Madagascar |series= Vol. 27 of Alfred Grandidier, ''Histoire, physique, naturelle, et politique de Madagascar'' |publisher=Imprimerie Nationale |location=Paris |pages=i-vii, 1–356, pl. 13, 14, 15}}</ref> the genus was up to 2005 known from a single male specimen, whose appearance was so unusual that the authors suspected a mislabeled giant pill-millipede from India.<ref>{{cite journal |author=C. A. W. Jeekel |year=1999 |title= A new pill-millipede from Madagascar, with a catalogue of the species hitherto described from the island (Diplopoda, Sphaerotheriida) |journal=Myriapod Memoranda |volume=I |pages=5–21}}</ref> Their unusual and distinct morphology includes well-developed stridulation organs, probably as devices for courtship. These are the male ‘harp’ and the female ‘washboard’, which contain more stridulation ribs than in other members of the order [[Sphaerotheriida]].<ref name=zoo/> They have a closer affinity with the Indian genus ''[[Arthrosphaera]]'' than to other Malagasy genera, though all belong to the [[Arthrosphaeridae]].<ref name=zoo/>

[[File:Sphaeromimussp.JPG|thumb|left|''[[Sphaeromimus sp.]]'']]

⚫
Like other giant pill millipedes, ''Sphaeromimus'' individuals can roll up into a ball for protection. The size of this ball is typically equal to that of a [[ping-pong ball]] and can sometimes even be larger. The most interesting traits of this genus are the [[sexual characters]]. Males have a structure on their anterior [[telopod]], known as the harp, which has several [[stridulation]] ribs and is able to produce sounds when rubbed against a sclerotized knob on the leg. They probably use this structure during courtship in order to prevent females from rolling up into a ball.]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=U. Haacker |year=1969 |title= Das Sexualverhalten von /Sphaerotherium dorsale/ (Myriapoda, Diplopoda)|journal=[[Verhandlungen der Deutschen Zoologischen Gesellschaft]] |volume=3 |pages=454-463}}</ref> When a female is receptive, it is believed that males use their posterior telopods in order to hold her down for [[copulation]]. Females, on the other hand, have a structure on their subanal plate called the washboard which, similar to the male harp, contains stridulation ribs and produces sounds. The harp and washboard are present in all species of the family Arthrosphaeridae, but are especially well developed in ''Sphaeromimus'', with males have 3–7 ribs on each harp, and females 8–16 ribs on each washboard.<ref name=WP/>


[[File:S.musicus.JPG|thumb|left|''[[Sphaeromimus musicus]]'']]



==Relationships==
It belongs to the [[Family (biology)|family]] [[Arthrosphaeridae]], which besides ''Sphaeromimus'' includes the Malagasy genera ''[[Zoosphaerium]]'' and ''[[Microsphaerotherium]]'', and the Indian genus ''[[Arthrosphaera]]''.<ref name=WS>{{cite journal |author=T. Wesener & D. Vanden Spiegel |year=2009 |title=A first phylogenetic analysis of Giant Pill-Millipedes (Diplopoda: Sphaerotheriida), a new model Gondwanan taxon, with special emphasis on island gigantism |journal=[[Cladistics (journal)|Cladistics]] |volume=25 |issue=6 |pages=545–573 |url= http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122536047/abstract |archive-url= https://archive.today/20130105121322/http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122536047/abstract |url-status= dead |archive-date= 2013-01-05 |format=[[Portable Document Format|PDF]] |doi=10.1111/j.1096-0031.2009.00267.x|s2cid=86041765 }}</ref> Recent research has shown that ''Sphaeromimus'' is more closely related to the Indian genus ''Arthrosphaera'' than to the other Malagasy genera.<ref name=WS/>


==Habitat==
All populations inhabit the leaf litter of the Malagasy [[rainforests]], except for one recently described species (2014) which was found in a cave and the [[type species]] ''S. musicus'' which has only been found in the dry [[Madagascar spiny thickets|spiny forest]]. Recent research has shown that ''Sphaeromimus'' populations are highly endemic, since individuals are not able to travel between forest patches. Movement between populations is becoming more limited, as forest is being destroyed at a rapid rate on Madagascar.


==Habits==
⚫
Like other giant pill-millipedes, ''Sphaeromimus'' individuals can roll up into a ball for protection. The size of this ball is typically equal to that of a [[ping-pong ball]] and can sometimes even be larger. Males have a structure on their anterior [[telopod]], known as the harp, which has several [[stridulation]] ribs and is able to produce sounds when rubbed against a sclerotized knob on the leg. They probably use this structure during courtship in order to prevent females from rolling up into a ball.<ref>{{cite journal |author=U. Haacker |year=1969 |title= Das Sexualverhalten von ''Sphaerotherium dorsale'' (Myriapoda, Diplopoda) |journal=Verhandlungen der Deutschen Zoologischen Gesellschaft |volume=3 |pages=454–463}}</ref> When a female is receptive, it is believed that males use the posterior telopod in order to hold females down for [[copulation (zoology)|copulation]]. Females, on the other hand, have a structure on their subanal plate called the washboard, which, like the male harp, contains stridulation ribs and produces sounds. The harp and washboard are present in all species of the family Arthrosphaeridae but are especially well developed in ''Sphaeromimus'', with males having 3–7 ribs on each harp, and females 8–16 ribs on each washboard.<ref name=WP/>


==Species==
[[File:Sphaeromimus musicus morphs.jpg|thumb|Three color morphs of ''Sphaeromimus musicus'': red (upper left), brown (upper right), and "normal" (lower right), which resembles ''Zoosphaerium blandum'' (seen at lower left)]]
Until 2014 only three species of ''Sphaeromimus'' were known. A further seven species were described in 2014, some of which are microendemics.<ref name=snc/><ref name=WP/><ref name=zoo>{{cite journal |last1=Wesener |first1=Thomas |last2=Le |first2=Daniel |last3=Loria |first3=Stephanie |title=Integrative revision of the giant pill-millipede genus Sphaeromimus from Madagascar, with the description of seven new species (Diplopoda, Sphaerotheriida, Arthrosphaeridae) |journal=ZooKeys |date=6 June 2014 |issue=414 |pages=67–107 |doi=10.3897/zookeys.414.7730 |pmid=25009417 |pmc=4086051|doi-access=free }}</ref>


* ''[[Sphaeromimus musicus|S. musicus]]'' – endemic to [[Madagascar spiny thickets|spiny forest]]
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* ''[[Sphaeromimus inexpectatus|S. inexpectatus]]''
* ''[[Sphaeromimus splendidus|S. splendidus]]'' – from forest fragment on sandy ground, less than 200 ha in size, [[Sainte-Luce, Madagascar|Sainte-Luce]], [[Anosy Region]]


;2014
⚫
* ''[[Sphaeromimus andohahela|S. andohahela]]''
* ''[[Sphaeromimus andrahomana|S. andrahomana]]'' – rainforest taxon from a [[Madagascar spiny thickets|spiny forest]] cave
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* ''[[Sphaeromimus ivohibe|S. ivohibe]]''
* ''[[Sphaeromimus lavasoa|S. lavasoa]]'' – from an isolated, c.100 ha rainforest remnant at [[Lavasoa Mountain]]
* ''[[Sphaeromimus saintelucei|S. saintelucei]]'' – from littoral rainforest on laterite soil, less than 50 ha in size, Sainte-Luce, Anosy Region
* ''[[Sphaeromimus titanus|S. titanus]]'' – from a lowland rainforest fragment called [[Manombo]]
* ''[[Sphaeromimus vatovavy|S. vatovavy]]''– from a lowland rainforest fragment close to the former French [[Fort Carnot]], only known from two old Museum specimens collected in the 1920s.


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


{{Taxonbar|from=Q7576547}}


[[Category:Millipedes]]
[[Category:Sphaerotheriida]]
[[Category:Millipedes of Africa]]
[[Category:Endemic fauna of Madagascar]]
[[Category:Arthropods of Madagascar]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Leo Zehntner]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Henri Louis Frédéric de Saussure]]
[[Category:Millipede genera]]

Latest revision as of 04:47, 4 January 2024

Sphaeromimus
Sphaeromimus andohahela
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Myriapoda
Class: Diplopoda
Order: Sphaerotheriida
Family: Arthrosphaeridae
Genus: Sphaeromimus
Saussure & Zehntner, 1902
Species

See text

Sphaeromimus (Latin: sphere mimic),[1] or the chirping giant pill millipedes, is a genus of giant pill millipedes (order Sphaerotheriida) endemic to southeastern Madagascar.[2] Though described in 1902,[3] the genus was up to 2005 known from a single male specimen, whose appearance was so unusual that the authors suspected a mislabeled giant pill-millipede from India.[4] Their unusual and distinct morphology includes well-developed stridulation organs, probably as devices for courtship. These are the male ‘harp’ and the female ‘washboard’, which contain more stridulation ribs than in other members of the order Sphaerotheriida.[5] They have a closer affinity with the Indian genus Arthrosphaera than to other Malagasy genera, though all belong to the Arthrosphaeridae.[5]

Relationships

[edit]

It belongs to the family Arthrosphaeridae, which besides Sphaeromimus includes the Malagasy genera Zoosphaerium and Microsphaerotherium, and the Indian genus Arthrosphaera.[6] Recent research has shown that Sphaeromimus is more closely related to the Indian genus Arthrosphaera than to the other Malagasy genera.[6]

Habitat

[edit]

All populations inhabit the leaf litter of the Malagasy rainforests, except for one recently described species (2014) which was found in a cave and the type species S. musicus which has only been found in the dry spiny forest. Recent research has shown that Sphaeromimus populations are highly endemic, since individuals are not able to travel between forest patches. Movement between populations is becoming more limited, as forest is being destroyed at a rapid rate on Madagascar.

Habits

[edit]

Like other giant pill-millipedes, Sphaeromimus individuals can roll up into a ball for protection. The size of this ball is typically equal to that of a ping-pong ball and can sometimes even be larger. Males have a structure on their anterior telopod, known as the harp, which has several stridulation ribs and is able to produce sounds when rubbed against a sclerotized knob on the leg. They probably use this structure during courtship in order to prevent females from rolling up into a ball.[7] When a female is receptive, it is believed that males use the posterior telopod in order to hold females down for copulation. Females, on the other hand, have a structure on their subanal plate called the washboard, which, like the male harp, contains stridulation ribs and produces sounds. The harp and washboard are present in all species of the family Arthrosphaeridae but are especially well developed in Sphaeromimus, with males having 3–7 ribs on each harp, and females 8–16 ribs on each washboard.[2]

Species

[edit]
Three color morphs of Sphaeromimus musicus: red (upper left), brown (upper right), and "normal" (lower right), which resembles Zoosphaerium blandum (seen at lower left)

Until 2014 only three species of Sphaeromimus were known. A further seven species were described in 2014, some of which are microendemics.[1][2][5]

2014

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b de Lazaro, Enrico (June 23, 2014). "Seven New Species of Chirping Giant Pill-Millipedes Discovered in Madagascar". Sci-News.com. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  2. ^ a b c T. Wesener & P. Sierwald (2005). "The giant pill-millipedes of Madagascar: Revision of the genus Sphaeromimus with a review of the morphological terminology (Diplopoda, Sphaerotheriida, Sphaerotheriidae)" (PDF). Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences. 56: 557–599.
  3. ^ H. de Saussure and L. Zehnter (1902). Myriapodes de Madagascar. Vol. 27 of Alfred Grandidier, Histoire, physique, naturelle, et politique de Madagascar. Paris: Imprimerie Nationale. pp. i–vii, 1–356, pl. 13, 14, 15.
  4. ^ C. A. W. Jeekel (1999). "A new pill-millipede from Madagascar, with a catalogue of the species hitherto described from the island (Diplopoda, Sphaerotheriida)". Myriapod Memoranda. I: 5–21.
  5. ^ a b c Wesener, Thomas; Le, Daniel; Loria, Stephanie (6 June 2014). "Integrative revision of the giant pill-millipede genus Sphaeromimus from Madagascar, with the description of seven new species (Diplopoda, Sphaerotheriida, Arthrosphaeridae)". ZooKeys (414): 67–107. doi:10.3897/zookeys.414.7730. PMC 4086051. PMID 25009417.
  6. ^ a b T. Wesener & D. Vanden Spiegel (2009). "A first phylogenetic analysis of Giant Pill-Millipedes (Diplopoda: Sphaerotheriida), a new model Gondwanan taxon, with special emphasis on island gigantism". Cladistics. 25 (6): 545–573. doi:10.1111/j.1096-0031.2009.00267.x. S2CID 86041765. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-01-05.
  7. ^ U. Haacker (1969). "Das Sexualverhalten von Sphaerotherium dorsale (Myriapoda, Diplopoda)". Verhandlungen der Deutschen Zoologischen Gesellschaft. 3: 454–463.
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