On the genus Pratinus and its two new species from China (Diplopoda: Paradoxosomatidae)

The present paper represents some taxonomie notes on the genera Centrodesmus Po-cock 1894 and Pratinus Attems 1937. It is found that the two Chinese known species, C. longispinus Loksa 1960 and C. cornutus Zhang 1982, should be placed in the Pratinusand to it should be assigned also two new species which are described as follows.Pratinus minutuberosus, sp. nov. (figs. 1-7)Eolotype ♂ (810410-1), allotype ♂ (810410-2), paratypes 2♀♀ (810410-3, 4), from Tianlin County, (24° N,. 106° E),, Guanxi Zhuang Autonomous Kegion, on Nov. 27.1978.Length 25 nim in male and 27 mm in female. Body colour, yellow.Head somewhat wider than collum. Metatergite not only with normally disposed ser tiferous tubercles, but also with a row of similar tutereles along the posterior rim. Ster-nite of the 5th segment with a rather wide and short prwess between the amterior legs, which bears a short longitudinal furrow on the ventral surfaoe and a slight incision at the posterior margin. Gonopod with the femur bent moderately backward and the. ti-biotarsus rather short, eoiled from. lateral to snedial side along the dorsal surface and with two laminellae at the end.The new species is closely related to Pratinus longispinus, but it is distinguishedfrom the latter by a process on. the femur of the 6th instead of the ,5th legPratinus raatrituberous, sp. nov. (figs. 8-14)Holotype ♂ (830916-l), allotype ♀ (830916-2), paratypes ♂ (830916-3) 2♀♀ (830916-4, -5) from Mangshi, Lusi County (24° N, 98° E);Yunnan Province, on July 22, 1983.Length 20mm in male and 22mm in female. Body colour blackish brown,Collum slightly wider than head. Legs of anterior foody without any modifications, but the femur of the 5th and 6th legs slightly swollen. 5th sternite with two processes. between anterior legs; the anterior one squarish and produced forward; and the poste-rior one a swelling produced slightly cauded and bearing two pores. Gonopod with the femur relatively slender and ereet, but becoming stout .distally, and the lamins latera-lis of tibiotarsus somewhat reduced, the lamina medialis with a narrow furrow suppor-ting the solenomerite and two latninellae at the end.The new species reserables Pratinus teras Jeekel. 1964 in the sfeape of keels, but dif-fers from it in the stouter tubereles at posterior transverse row and the process on ster-nite of 5th segment.All the type speamens of the two new species are preserved in the Institute of Zoology, Aeademka Sinica.