"Quinone Millipedes" Reconsidered: Evidence for a Mosaic-Like Taxonomic Distribution of Phenol-Based Secretions across the Julidae.

The defensive chemistry of juliformian millipedes is characterized mainly by benzoquinones ("quinone millipedes"), whereas the secretions of the putative close outgroup Callipodida are considered to be exclusively phenolic. We conducted a chemical screening of julid secretions for phenolic content. Most species from tribes Cylindroiulini (15 species examined), Brachyiulini (5 species examined), Leptoiulini (15 species examined), Uncigerini (2 species examined), Pachyiulini (3 species examined), and Ommatoiulini (2 species examined) had non-phenolic, in most cases exclusively benzoquinonic secretions. In contrast, tribes Cylindroiulini, Brachyiulini, and Leptoiulini also contained representatives with predominantly phenol-based exudates. In detail, p-cresol was a major compound in the secretions of the cylindroiulines Styrioiulus pelidnus and S. styricus (p-cresol content 93 %) and an undetermined Cylindroiulus species (p-cresol content 51 %), in the brachyiulines Brachyiulus lusitanus (p-cresol content 21 %) and Megaphyllum fagorum (p-cresol content 92 %), as well as in an undescribed Typhloiulus species (p-cresol content 32 %, Leptoiulini). In all species, p-cresol was accompanied by small amounts of phenol. The secretion of M. fagorum was exclusively phenolic, whereas phenols were accompanied by benzoquinones in all other species. This is the first incidence of clearly phenol-dominated secretions in the Julidae. We hypothesize a shared biosynthetic route to phenols and benzoquinones, with benzoquinones being produced from phenolic precursors. The patchy taxonomic distribution of phenols documented herein supports multiple independent regression events in a common pathway of benzoquinone synthesis rather than multiple independent incidences of phenol biosynthesis.

Back to the Middle Ages: Entomological and Botanical Elements Reveal New Aspects of the Burial of Saint Davino of Armenia.

The natural mummy of Saint Davino Armeno (11th century) is preserved in the church of Saint Michele in Foro in the city of Lucca (Tuscany, Central Italy). The body of Davino is one of the oldest Italian mummies of a Saint, and his paleopathological study was performed in 2018. In the present research, we investigated the arthropod fragments and botanical remains collected from the body, coffin, and fabrics of Saint Davino. Entomological analyses outlined the presence of 192 arthropod fragments. Among these, Diptera, Muscidae (Hydrotaea capensis and Muscina sp.), and Phoridae (Conicera sp.) puparia were the most abundant. Regarding Coleoptera, Ptinidae (Anobium punctatum) were the most frequent, followed by Cleridae (Necrobia sp.), Trogidae (Trox scaber), Curculionidae (Sitophilus granarius), and Histeridae (Gnathoncus). Cocoons of Tineidae and Pyralidae moths were found, along with a propodeum joined to the petiole and a mesopleuron of an Ichneumoninae parasitoid. Numerous metamera of Julida and three scorpion fragments were also found. Botanical samples indicated the presence of a quite broad botanical community, including gramineous species, olives, evergreen oaks, and grapevine. Overall, entomological data allow us to argue that Saint Davino was first buried into the soil, probably in a wooden coffin, thus supporting the historical-hagiographic tradition according to which he was buried sub divo in the cemetery of Saint Michele. The preservation of the body as a natural mummy may have been facilitated by burial in a coffin that prevented direct contact of the corpse with the earth. Botanical remains offer confirmation of a late medieval urban environment rich in horticultural areas and trees, giving us a landscape that is very different from the current Tuscan city.

"Open access" growth histories in millipedes (Diplopoda).

A unique pattern of missing defence glands on certain body rings is described for two species of the millipede family Mongoliulidae, order Julida: Ussuriiulus pilifer Golovatch, 1980, and Koiulus interruptus Enghoff et al., 2017. Based on the patterns of missing glands observed in recently collected samples of the two species, numbers of podous and apodous body rings in successive stadia of the postembryonic development can be inferred for each individual millipede, which in turn allows the reconstruction of pathways of anamorphosis in these species. The inferred numbers of body rings in developmental stadia are compared with actual numbers observed on additional samples, including the type series, of U. pilifer. The pattern of missing glands in the two mongoliulid species is compared with the pattern of missing glands typical of the entire millipede order Polydesmida.

First continental troglobiont Cylindroiulus millipede (Diplopoda, Julida, Julidae).

The new species of millipede Cylindroiulusvillumi is described from a cave in the Estremenho karst massif in central Portugal. It is the first cave-adapted species of its genus with a strict subterranean life-style in continental Europe, and is the fifth blind species of the genus. The new species is illustrated with photographs and diagrammatic drawings. It is tentatively placed in the purely Iberian Cylindroiulusperforatus-group. The differences between the new species and its relatives are discussed, as well as its adaptations to a subterranean life-style.

Compartmentalization of microbial communities that inhabit the hindguts of millipedes.

The gut lumen of the arthropod detritivore provides hospitable and multifaceted environments for diverse assemblages of microbes. Many microbes, including trichomycetes fungi, bacteria, and archaea establish stable, adherent communities on the cuticular surface secreted by the hindgut epithelium. Regional differences in the surface topography within the hindgut of a given millipede are reflected in differing and diverse microbial assemblages. The spirostreptid millipede Cambala speobia is a detritivore found on the floors of Texas caves. This millipede species has a very circumscribed distribution in North America and a diet confined to the limited litter that accumulates on floors of these caves while the common julid millipede Cylindroiulus caeruleocinctus, an introduced European species, feeds on the diverse litter found in organic soils throughout North America. In both millipedes, the gut lumina are inhabited along their entire lengths by microbes, with the highest microbial densities in the hindguts. The anterior third of the hindgut with its distinctive six-fold symmetry is lined by cuticle having fine polarized scales, and the posterior-most third is lined by smooth cuticle. Trichomycetes only inhabit the anterior third of the hindgut, and scattered patches of filamentous bacteria along with their smaller adherent microbes occupy the posterior third. The densest populations of microbes inhabit the central region of the hindgut. Over the cuticular surface of this hindgut region, uniformly distributed indentations mark possible channels for nutrient and water exchange between the hindgut lumen and host hemolymph. Films of microbes are adherent to the cuticle that lines the hindgut while those microbes in the remainder of the gut (i.e., foregut + midgut) represent mostly unattached inhabitants.