Millipedes of Australia

Spirobolida: Pachybolidae:
Speleostrophus spp.

Go to Speleostrophus synonymy on Pachybolidae introduction page

Speleostrophus nesiotes Hoffman, 1994
  Speleostrophus nesiotes Hoffman 1994: 20 (first description),
    figs. 1-4, p. 21; figs. 5-7, p. 23.
  Speleostrophus nesiotes Jeekel 2001b: 70. (In species catalogue.)

Holotype. Male.
Locality. Ledge Cave B1, Barrow Island, WA, 20°49'43"S 115°26'40"E.
Collectors, date. W.F. Humphreys & B. Vine, 12 September 1991.
Deposited. WAM, 93/2 (Hoffman 1994: 20).
Paratypes. (from Hoffman 1994: 20-21):
    In WAM: 1 female (93/3), details as for holotype but 5 September 1991, and 1 male (93/5) and 3 females (93/4, 93/6, 93/7) from the same locality but collected by D. Goodgame, 12 December 1991.
    In VMNH: 1 male, also collected 12 December 1991 by D. Goodgame at the type locality.
Other records. A subterranean fauna survey on Barrow Island was carried out in 2004-05 on behalf of a gas-mining joint venture company. Eight millipede specimens were collected underground at three sites on the opposite side of the island from Ledge Cave. The specimens were identified as S. nesiotes by Mark Harvey (WAM). A full report on the survey is available online (Biota Environmental Services 2005).
Note. S. nesiotes was gazetted on 11 April 2003 under the WA Wildlife Conservation Act 1950 as a Schedule 1 species, i.e. 'fauna that is rare or likely to become extinct'.