A new helminthomorph millipede, Sinosoma luopingense new genus new species, from the Triassic Luoping biota of China, has 39 body segments, metazonites with lateral swellings that bear a pair of posterolateral pits (?insertion pits for spine bases), and sternites that are unfused to the pleurotergites. This millipede shares a number of characters with nematophoran diplopods, but lacks the prominent dorsal suture characteristic of that order. Other “millipede” material from the biota is more problematic. Millipedes are a rare part of the Luoping biota, which is composed mainly of marine and near-shore organisms. Occurrences of fossil millipedes are exceedingly rare in Triassic rocks worldwide, comprising specimens from Europe, Asia, and Africa, and consisting of juliform millipedes and millipedes that are either nematophorans or forms very similar to nematophorans.
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1 May 2018
A new millipede (Diplopoda, Helminthomorpha) from the Middle Triassic Luoping biota of Yunnan, Southwest China
Jinyuan Huang,
Joseph T. Hannibal,
Rodney M. Feldmann,
Qiyue Zhang,
Shixue Hu,
Carrie E. Schweitzer,
Michael J. Benton,
Changyong Zhou,
Wen Wen,
Tao Xie
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Journal of Paleontology
Vol. 92 • No. 3
May 2018
Vol. 92 • No. 3
May 2018