Lithobius tatricus Dobroruka, 1958

Tuf, Ivan Hadrián, Wytwer, Jolanta & Tajovský, Karel, 2008, On the identity of the species described in the genus Lithobius Leach, 1814 by L. J. Dobroruka from the former Czechoslovakia (Czech and Slovak Republics) (Chilopoda: Lithobiomorpha), Zootaxa 1788, pp. 37-46 : 43

Lithobius tatricus Dobroruka, 1958

Lithobius (Archilithobius) tatricus Dobroruka 1958b: 115 , tab. I, figs 1–3.

Type locality. Bielovodská Valley, sieved material and under bark of fallen trees, Belanské Tatry Mts, Slovak Republic.

Type specimens. The original description of L. tatricus was based on the holotype (ɗ) and 4 paratypes (3 ɗ, 1 Ψ), coll. Dobroruka.

Material examined. 4 ɗ and 1 Ψ with labels reading “ L tatricus n. sp. ” and “Bielov dolina 28.6.1955 sp.n.” from Dobroruka’s “ type collection”, evidently identical to the holotype and paratype specimens mentioned in the original description. The material was dried up and mildewed, now in alcohol.

Remarks. Dobroruka (1971) later reported this species from some other localities in the Belanské Tatry Mts in Slovakia (2 ɗ) and from near the towns of Nový Byd ž ov and Králíky in Bohemia (4 ex., Dobroruka 1977). After that L. tatricus was recorded also at high altitudes in Poland, i.e. Roztoka and Świstówka valleys in the Tatra Mts ( Kaczmarek 1979). This species has since been found also in the Podyjí NP (7 ɗ and 1 Ψ) by Dobroruka (1998), as well as in the Giant Mountains in Bohemia ( Tajovský 2000; as L. cf tatricus ).

The distinguishing feature of this species is a slight sulcus on the tibia of the 14th and 15th legs of males. In the original description, Dobroruka (1958b) compared his new species with Lithobius salicis Ver ho e ff, 1925, Lithobius maximovici Folkmanová, 1946 (= Lithobius lucifugus L. Koch, 1862 , sensu Schubart 1964) and Lithobius subtilis Latzel, 1880 , with L. tatricus differing from them by having the following combination of characters: 27–38 antennomeres, 9–13 ocelli, VpF spine starting from the 2nd or 3rd legs, the 2nd article of the female gonopods with 5 dorsal setae, and the last legs with a spinulation pattern of D: 0,0,2-3,0 and V: 0,1,3,2-3,0 and double claws.

Again some disagreement between the spinulation as observed in the re-examined material and as given in the original description is noteworthy. There are DCa and VTa spines on the last legs. This pattern is typical of Lithobius mutabilis L. Koch, 1862 . In addition, the dorsal side of the 14th tibia in one of the males shows an indistinct swelling with a trace of setae behind the tuft, also resembling the condition characteristic of the male of L. mutabilis . This corresponds with the presence of weak sulci on the 14th and 15th tibiae. These features can be found in PL6 stage of L. mutabilis ( Fründ 1983) . Summarizing, all the features mentioned in the original description of L. tatricus to separate it from congeners appear to be the characters which occur in immature stages of L. mutabilis .

Taxonomic note. We consider Lithobius tatricus Dobroruka, 1958 as a junior subjective synonym of Lithobius mutabilis L. Koch, 1862 , syn. n. Some more recently obtained material of L. tatricus ( Tajovský 2000) has also been revised and assigned to L. mutabilis as well.