Orthoporus fuscipes (PORAT, 1888) (Juliformia; Spirostreptidae): population structure and defensive secretion chemical analysis.

ABSTRACT

Diplopods are terrestrial arthropods important for the dynamics of terrestrial ecosystems. One of the reasons for that can be their low predation rate due to their defensive secretion. Thus, Orthoporus fuscipes, a species belonging to this group and endemic to northeastern Brazil, was investigated as to its population structure and chemical constituents of defensive secretion. The population structure showed that females are larger and have greater mass than do males, along with negative allometric growth between males and females. The defensive secretion hexane extract was submitted to fractionation using SiO2 open-column chromatography and the gas chromatographic coupled to mass spectrometric analysis was applied in the fraction possibilities to identify major fatty acid methyl esthers, along with minor alkanes, alkenes and fatty acids derivatives and the known quinoids 2-methoxy-3-methylhydroquinone, 2-methoxy-3-methyl-1,4-benzoquinone, 2,3-dimethoxy-1,4-benzoquinone and 2,3-dimethoxyhydroquinone. In addition, the cytochrome oxidase I sequence for the species was deposited for the first time.