'' Titanophyllum spiliarum '' is a species of

cave-dwelling A cave dweller, or troglodyte, is a human being who inhabits a cave or the area beneath the overhanging rocks of a cliff. Prehistory Some prehistoric humans were cave dwellers, but most were not (''see'' ''Homo'' and Human evolution). Suc ...

millipede 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

Julidae Julidae is a family of millipedes in the order Julida, containing more than 600 species in around 20 genera. Its members are largely confined to the Western Palaearctic, with only a few species extending into the Oriental and Afrotropical realms ...

. The only known species of the genus ''Titanophyllum'', it was described in 2011 from specimens discovered in a cave in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. It has several unusual characteristics including eyelessness and a small hook on its hind-most body section that may be involved in keeping the animal ‘locked’ when it coils-up defensively.

Description

''T. spiliarum'' specimens measure 17 – 33 mm in length and 1 to 1.4 mm wide. The pale yellow body consists of a head followed by 47-61 body segments with legs, 1-2 legless segments, ending in a

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 ...

(legless, last body segment). The walking legs are about 80% the body width. Eyes are absent. Like other members of the

Julida Julida is an order of millipedes. Members are mostly small and cylindrical, typically ranging from in length. Eyes may be present or absent, and in mature males of many species, the first pair of legs is modified into hook-like structures. Addit ...

, mature males have two pairs of highly modified legs, the

gonopod 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 millip ...

s, in place of the 8th and 9th pair of walking legs. Unusual among Julid millipedes, the telson possesses a small, forward-projecting hook on the hypoproct or subanal scale (the small plate below the anus). The function of the so-called “subanal hook” is unknown, but as it appears in both sexes and in juveniles, is thought to be related to survival rather than reproduction or attracting mates. Subanal hooks are known in only of few members of the

, including species of '' Unciger'', '' Syrioiulus'', and '' Typhloiulus'', and may aid in keeping the body in a defensive coil or spiral when threatened.

Discovery

''T. spiliarum'' was described from several specimens originally collected from a cave in Magnesia, Greece in 2003. It was described as a new genus and species in 2011 by a team of Danish and Bulgarian scientists.

Etymology

The genus name ''Titanophyllum'' derives from to the name of the cave where the species was discovered (Titanospilia, “the cave of Titans”), and the suffix ''-phyllum'', a reference to the leaf-shaped posterior gonopods. The species name means “of the caves” in Greek.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q18394539 Julida Cave millipedes Millipedes of Europe Endemic fauna of Greece Monotypic arthropod genera

Description

Discovery

Etymology

See also

References