Dragons out of the dark: Six new species of dragon millipedes discovered in Chinese caves

Dragons out of the dark: Six new species of dragon millipedes discovered in Chinese caves

Date: April 6, 2016

Source: Pensoft Publishers

Summary: Six new species of Chinese dragon millipedes, including species living exclusively in caves, are described as a result of an international cooperation. These cave species have unusually long legs and antennae, with one of them resembling a stick insect, only with a lot more legs. Others appear ghostly white and semi-transparent.


[font size=1]
The Ghost Dragon Millipede, Desmoxytes similis, shows another common adaptation to underground life in caves. The
complete loss of pigmentation gives the animal a ghost-like appearance.

Credit: Sunbin Huang, Xinhui Wang and South China Agricultural University; CC-BY 4.0
[/font]

Six new species of Chinese dragon millipedes, including species living exclusively in caves, are described as a result of an international cooperation of research institutes from China, Russia and Germany. These cave species have unusually long legs and antennae, with one of them resembling a stick insect, only with a lot more legs. Others appear ghostly white and semi-transparent. The study is published in the open-access journal ZooKeys.

Underresearched in many tropical countries, numerous millipede species are still awaiting discovery and description in China as well. In the present study, three researchers from South China Agricultural University, the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig describe six particularly extraordinary new species of so-called 'dragon millipedes' from the two southern Chinese regions of Guangdong and Guangxi Zhuang. Both areas host a large number of spectacular caves, which have only recently been thoroughly surveyed. Four of the species never leave their underground homes.

Dragon millipedes, a genus of millipedes living in southeastern Asia, are characterised with their 'armour' of unusual spine-like projections. Furthermore, some of these species produce toxic hydrogen cyanide to ward off predators.

Among the public, the genus gained particular attention when the "Shocking pink dragon millipede" was discovered in Thailand in 2007. This discovery highlighted a large number of unknown millipede species in the Mekong region and worldwide. While the newly described cave dragon millipedes from China lack the "shocking" warning colour of their surface-living relatives, they are no less spectacular.

More:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160406124744.htm