New records of the millipedes Parafontaria laminata (Attems, 1909) (Polydesmida: Xystodesmidae) and Niponia nodulosa Verhoeff, 1931 (Polydesmida: Cryptodesmidae) in Hokkaido, Japan

Mainland Hokkaido (area 77,983.90 sq km) is the northernmost of the four main islands comprising Japan and is known to have a very different fauna than the other three main islands (e.g., Masuda 1999). Nine species of Polydesmida (Diplopoda) have been recorded from mainland Hokkaido: Epanerchodus acer Takakuwa, 1954, E. fontium Verhoeff, 1940, E. furculiger Verhoeff, 1937, E. gracilis Takakuwa, 1954, E. orientalis ( Attems, 1901), E. tremorum Verhoeff, 1940, Levizonus montanus (Takakuwa, 1941), L. takakuwai (Verhoeff, 1941), and Oxidus gracilis (C. L. Koch, 1847) (Takashima & Haga 1956, Miyosi 1959, Murakami 1972, Nishikawa & Murakami 1994). Here, we report new records of Parafontaria laminata (Attems, 1909) (Xystodesmidae) and Niponia nodulosa Verhoeff, 1931 (Cryptodesmidae) from Hokkaido, Japan, both representing northward extensions of the known distributions. Collected specimens were preserved in 70% ethanol. Identification was carried out using a stereomicroscope, and the whole body and gonopods were photographed using a mirrorless camera (E-M1, Olympus). Body length (BL), head width (HW), and metatergal width of the 10th segment (MTW) were measured. Voucher specimens are deposited in the Natural History Museum and Institute, Chiba (CBM), Japan.