Scolopocryptops melanostoma Newport, 1845

Schileyko, Arkady A., 2014, A contribution to the centipede fauna of Venezuela (Chilopoda: Scolopendromorpha), Zootaxa 3821 (1), pp. 151-192 : 154-156

Scolopocryptops melanostoma Newport, 1845

Figs 2–7

Otocryptops melanostomus: Attems, 1930: 263 ;

Otocryptops melanostomus: Bücherl, 1950: 194 ; Otocryptops melanostomus: Bücherl, 1959: 238 ; Scolopocryptops melanostoma: Chagas, 2010: 164 .

Locus typicus: St. Vincent Island, West Indies.

Material. Aragua State, Parco Henri Pittier, leg MGP: 1 ad [largest spec ca 45 mm], [loc.2], Rancho Grande, Bds, 29.08.1980, N 7169; 1 sad, [loc.3], N 18, Portachuello, selva nublada, 1250 m, BR, 0 2.1987, N 7170; 1 sad + 2 juv, [loc.3], N 15, Portachuello, selva nublada, 1250 m, BR, 0 2.1987, N 7172. Miranda State, [loc.10], Guatopo [National Park], Los Alpes [del Tuy], N 32, bosque humedo tropical, 600 m, r[otten] log, 0 2.1987, 1 sad, leg MGP, N 7171. 6 specimens in all.

Additional material. Dominican Republic, St. Cristobal, 1 spec, N 7075. Brazil, Amazônas, km 10 of Manaos, 1 spec, N 7173. E Indonesia, West Papua, S Bird’s Neck, 3 spec.

Description of adult N 7172. Length of body ca 32 mm (maximal length for this species up to 60 mm according to Attems, 1930). Color in ethanol: dark-yellow with cephalic plate + tergite 1 and ultimate segment somewhat darker; forcipular segment brown. The body with very sparse minute setae, tarsi of legs somewhat more setose. Tarsus of legs 22 with some quite long setae; femur of ultimate legs setose dorsally, tibia and (especially) tarsus of these legs densely covered with quite long setae.

Antennae composed of 17 articles; 10 basal articles are flattened dorso-ventrally, the following articles are cylindrical. 6 basal articles with a few long setae, subsequent articles densely pilose.

Cephalic plate without any sutures, coarsely and sparsely punctate ( Fig. 4 ), with sides practically parallel to each other and with both anterior and posterior corners considerably rounded; it is relatively narrow, so the forcipules are clearly visible in dorsal view.

Second maxillae: article 2 of telopodite distally with a short but well-developed dorsal spur. Pretarsus without accessory spines.

Forcipular segment: ventral surface of coxosternite and trochanteroprefemora coarsely and sparsely punctate. Coxosternite with long median suture which reaches middle; some transverse sutures ( Fig. 3 ) cross the median one in anterior third of coxosternite. Short chitin-lines well-developed; they are homologous with those of Geophilomorpha and have been already reported for Scolopendromorpha by Schileyko & Minelli (1998) and Schileyko (2013). Anterior margin of coxosternite strongly sclerotised (dark brown or practically black in color), concave and forming a very obtuse angle ( Fig. 3 ). Anterior margin clearly divided by a median diastema into two very low lobes, without setae or sutures. A weakly pigmented triangular area of cuticle just behind anterior margin of coxosternite. Trochanteroprefemur with large obtuse process, with a well-developed basal suture ( Fig. 3 ). Tarsungula normal, their internal surface with three well-developed longitudinal ridges ( Fig. 2 ).

Tergites: very sparsely punctate. Tergite 1 ( Fig. 4 ) with curved anterior transverse suture and very short fine paramedian sutures just behind it; these sutures branching widely posteriorly. Anterior margin of tergite 1 is covered by the cephalic plate, which covers anterior transverse suture. Tergite 2 very short (as long as 1/3-1/2 of tergite 3), with some transverse sutures anteriorly and rudiments of paramedian sutures anterior to them. Tergites 3- 21 with complete paramedian sutures, tergites 22-23 without sutures. Only tergites (6)7-21 marginate. Tergite 23 nearly as long as wide, somewhat narrowed towards the convex posterior margin. All tergites lack lateral longitudinal sutures and median keel.

Sternites coarsely and sparsely punctate. Sternites 2-17 practically rectangular ( Fig. 5 ), sternites 18-22 trapeziform. Sternites 2 and 4 with very short anterior median suture, this suture much longer on sternite 3 (up to 1/ 3 of the length of this sternite). Paramedian sutures and transverse sutures/depressions absent. Ultimate sternite somewhat wider than long and narrowed towards practically straight posterior margin; its sides curved ( Fig. 6 ).

Legs: with a few short setae, tarsi of legs 1-21 undivided ( Fig. 5 ). Legs 1-18 with lateral and ventral tibial spurs (which are approximately of the same size) and a tarsal spur. Legs 19 with tarsal spur only, legs 20-22 without spurs. Pretarsi of normal length, thin and sharply pointed. Only legs 1-13 with minute accessory spines; in legs 9- 13 these spines are rudimentary.

Coxopleuron ( Figs 6, 7 ) more than twice as long as sternite 23. Coxopleural processes cylindrical, definitely longer than sternite 23 and diverging slightly. Tip of process pointed but not harpoon-like as in Newportia (see below). Nearly all surface of coxopleuron with coxal pores of various size—only coxopleural process and a relatively wide area bordering the posterior margin of coxopleuron poreless. Coxopleural surface without setae. Posterior margin of pleuron (=pleural part of coxopleuron) of ultimate leg-bearing segment forming an acute angle, its tip rounded ( Fig. 7 ); a minute additional dark spine at dorsal side of this angle.

Ultimate legs: long and slender ( Fig. 7 ), 9–10 mm long, width of prefemur ca 0.5 mm; all articles cylindrical in cross-section. Prefemur slightly flattened dorsally, its distal part is somewhat thicker than basal part. Prefemur with two conical pointed spinous processes at mid length—a large ventral and a much smaller dorso-medial one ( Figs 6, 7 ). Accessory spines absent. Distal part of femur, tibia and tarsus densely setose.

Range. Chagas (2010) recorded this species for Mexico, Central America ( Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala to Panama), Puerto Rico in Greater Antilles, Martinique, Saint Vincent and Grenadines, Trinidad in Lesser Antilles and South America ( Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil). He also recorded it from Australasia ( Fiji Islands) and Indo-Malaysia ( Nicobar Island, Vietnam), Taiwan, Philippines, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. I add to this list Dominican Republic ( Island Haiti in Greater Antilles) and West Papua (New Guinea).

In Venezuela. Aragua State, Municipio Mario Briceño Iragorry, Henri Pittier National Park. Miranda State, Municipio Acevedo, Guatopo National Park. Zulia State, “Gegend von Ayapaina”.

Variability. Compared to the specimens of melanostoma from West Papua, Venezuelan specimens are smaller but have the coxopleural process comparatively longer (somewhat longer than ultimate sternite) and much more slender.

Discussion. Attems (1930: 259, 263) wrote that S. melanostoma has pretarsi of legs with poorly-developed accessory spines or totally without these spines, using this condition as the diagnostic character for this species in the key. All specimens of melanostoma studied show accessory spines normally developed on legs of anterior body half (usually at legs 1–13), on the remaining legs these spines are rudimentary and sometimes hardly visible.

Figures

FIGURES 2 – 5. Scolopocryptops melanostoma Newport, 1845 2 adult N 7169: forcipular tarsungula, ventral view 3 adult N 7172: forcipular segment and segment 1, ventral view 4 adult N 7172: cephalic plate and segments 1 – 2, dorsal view 5 adult N 7172: segments of anterior body half, ventral view; (ta) — forcipular tarsungulum, (lr) — mesal longitudinal ridges of forcipular tarsungulum, (cxs) — forcipular coxosternite, (trf) — trochanteroprefemur of forcipules, (ms) — median suture of forcipular coxosternite, (ts) — transverse sutures, (chl) — chitin-lines, (am) — anterior margin of forcipular coxosternite, (md) — median diastema, (ptr) — process of forcipular trochanteroprefemur, (bs) — basal suture, (lpa) — less pigmented triangular area of coxosternite, (tg 1) — tergite 1, (st) — sternite, (utl) — undivided tarsus of leg.

FIGURES 6 – 9. Scolopocryptops melanostoma Newport, 1845 (adult N 7172) 6 segment 23 and prefemora of ultimate legs, ventral view 7 segment 23 and ultimate legs, lateral view; Scolopocryptops guacharensis Manfredi, 1957 (adult N 7167) 8 cephalic plate and segments 1 – 2, dorsal view 9 forcipular segment and segment 1, ventral view; (ust) — sternite of ultimate legbearing segment, (cx) — coxopleuron, (cxp) — coxopleural process, (pm) — posterior margin of pleuron of segment 23, (vsp) — ventral spinous process of ultimate prefemur, (dmsp) — dorso-medial spinous process of ultimate prefemur, (ts) — transverse sutures, (am) — anterior margin of forcipular coxosternite, (ltam) — lateral tooth of anterior margin of coxosternite, (bsam) — basal suture of anterior margin of coxosternite, (ptr) — process of forcipular trochanteroprefemur, (tg 1) — tergite 1.