''Lipseuma'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

millipedes Millipedes are a group of arthropods that are characterised by having two pairs of jointed legs on most body segments; they are known scientifically as the class Diplopoda, the name derived from this feature. Each double-legged segment is a resu ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Kashmireumatidae Kashmireumatidae is a small family of millipedes belonging to the order Chordeumatida. These millipedes range from 5 mm to 14 mm in length and are found in East Asia. Adult millipedes in this family have only 26 or 28 segments (counting ...

. This genus contains only two

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

, the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

'' L. josianae'' and its close relative '' L. bernardi''. Both species are

troglobites A troglobite (or, formally, troglobiont) is an animal species, or population of a species, strictly bound to underground habitats, such as caves. These are separate from species that mainly live in above-ground habitats but are also able to live u ...

found in caves in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Discovery

This genus and its two species were first described in 2006 by the

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

Sergei Golovatch of the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across t ...

and two biologists at the

Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle The French National Museum of Natural History, known in French as the ' (abbreviation MNHN), is the national natural history museum of France and a ' of higher education part of Sorbonne Universities. The main museum, with four galleries, is loc ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, Jean-Jacques Geoffroy and Jean-Paul Mauriès. The original descriptions are based on specimens collected in 1999 by the biospeleologists Josiane and Bernard Lips, for whom the genus and its two species are named. The ''L. josianae''

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

(a male) and seven

paratypes In zoology and botany, a paratype is a specimen of an organism that helps define what the scientific name of a species and other taxon actually represents, but it is not the holotype (and in botany is also neither an isotype nor a syntype). Of ...

(two males, one female, and four juveniles) were found in the Chuan Dong Zi cave in Banqiao in

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...

province in China. The ''L. bernardi'' holotype (a male) and two paratypes (one incomplete male and one subadult male) were found in the Three Eyes cave in

Xinlong Xinlong County (; ) is a county in the west of Sichuan Province, China. It is under the administration of the Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Xinlong County is part of historical region of Nyarong. Jazi (Nyarong Jazi Gon; Jazi Gon Sangngak ...

county in

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

province in China. All

type specimens In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes t ...

are deposited in the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Description

Both species in this genus are striking for the complete lack of pigment and the absence of eyes. These species also feature strongly elongated antennae, legs, and bristles on the outside of their bodies. These

troglomorphic Troglomorphism is the morphological adaptation of an animal to living in the constant darkness of caves, characterised by features such as loss of pigment, reduced eyesight or blindness, and frequently with attenuated bodies and/or appendages. The ...

adaptations to life in the dark indicate that both species are troglobites, living their entire life cycles in caves. As in most species in the family Kashireumatidae (all three species of '' Kashmireuma'' and two of three species of '' Vieteuma''), the adults of both species of ''Lipseuma'' have only 28 segments (counting the collum as the first segment and the

telson The telson () is the posterior-most division of the body of an arthropod. Depending on the definition, the telson is either considered to be the final segment of the arthropod body, or an additional division that is not a true segment on accou ...

as the last) rather than the 30 segments usually found in adults the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

Chordeumatida Chordeumatida (from the Greek word for "sausage") is a large order of millipedes containing some 1200 species with a nearly worldwide distribution. Also known as "sausage millipedes," they possess around 30 body segments behind the head (includi ...

. Thus, in this genus, the adult female has only 46 pairs of legs, and the adult male has only 44 pairs of walking legs, excluding the eighth and ninth pair, which become anterior and posterior

gonopods Gonopods are specialized appendages of various arthropods used in reproduction or egg-laying. In males, they facilitate the transfer of sperm from male to female during mating, and thus are a type of intromittent organ. In crustaceans and milli ...

. The species in this genus are also notable for featuring gonopods that are among the simplest in the order Chordeumatida. Both the anterior and posterior gonopods distinguish this genus from other genera in the family Kashmireumatidae. For example, the posterior gonopods in this genus feature only one segment where two or three segments are visible in the other two genera in this family. The two ''Lipseuma'' species are so similar as to be difficult to distinguish. The two species differ slightly in size: Male specimens of ''L. josianae'' range from 9.3 mm to 9.8 mm in length, while the only female specimen measures 10.1 mm long. The male specimens of ''L. bernardi'' are smaller, ranging from 6.8 mm (in the subadult) to 7.2 mm in length. Furthermore, the two species differ in minor details of the structure of their legs and gonopods.

References

{{taxonbar, from=Q107265856 Millipede genera Chordeumatida Cave millipedes