Otostigmus (Otostigmus) cuneiventris Porat, 1893

Simaiakis, Stylianos Michail & Edgecombe, Gregory D., 2013, Scolopendromorph centipedes (Chilopoda: Scolopendromorpha) in the Natural History Museum (London): A review of the hitherto unidentified species collected in Africa, with remarks on taxonomy and distribution, and a new species of Otostigmus (Parotostigmus), Zootaxa 3734 (2), pp. 169-198 : 176

7. Otostigmus (Otostigmus) cuneiventris Porat, 1893

( Figs 4–7 )

Material examined. Cameroon: Mamfe , Mamfediu, 550’, 17/2/1933 and 3/3/1933, in dead logs, under stones, Percy Sladen Expedition, leg. F.J. Sanderson, 1 ex., BMNH ?; Tanzania: 2 nd Oxford University Tanganyika Expedition , loc. Kungwe, No. 644, 6.200 ft, 4/9/59, habitat: under bark, isolated clump of trees, leg. J.A.C., 3 exx., BMNH?. ( Fig. 8 ) .

Type locality. Cameroon (Mapanja) ( Minelli et al. 2006) .

General distribution. East Tropical Africa: Kenya (KE), Tanzania ( TZ); West-Central Tropical Africa: Cameroon ( CM) ( Minelli et al. 2006).

Remarks. Material studied here agrees with descriptions by Kraepelin (1903) and Attems (1930) in the following: 17 antennal articles of which three are glabrous; 4+4 teeth on the coxosternal tooth plates ( Fig. 5 ); paramedian sutures complete from T6; tergites marginate from 8; sternites with three longitudinal median depressions, an ovate lateral depression, and a round posteromedian depression; a short coxopleural process; and a prefemoral spine formula of DM 2 (including a corner spine), VM 2, VL 3. Of three specimens retaining the ultimate leg (including both Cameroon and Tanazania), this prefemoral formula is conserved apart from one Tanzanian specimen with DM1, M 1, VM 2, VL 2 ( Figs 6, 7 ). Regarding the Tanzanian specimen the left ultimate leg is shorter than the right and differs in the number and arrangement of spines. This and the fact that the left coxopleural process is missing suggests loss and regeneration of the leg and damage and repair of the coxopleural process. Published accounts noted some geographic variability with respect to the shape of the sternite of the ultimate leg-bearing segment, described as parallel-sided in material from Cameroon and narrowing posteriorly in material from Tanzania ( Attems, 1930), but the Cameroon specimen examined here has the same trapezoidal shape as the Tanzanian material ( Fig. 7 ). Specimens from Cameroon have been described as lacking tarsal spurs or having them at most tiny; the Cameroon specimen examined here has a small tarsal spur on legs 1–19, and it has two small apical spines on the coxopleural process (only one fide Kraepelin; mostly one, seldom two fide Attems). The Tanzanian sample includes two specimens with a tarsal spur on leg 1 only and one entirely lacking tarsal spurs, and of the six coxopleurae examined, five have two apical spines ( Fig. 7 ) and one lacks a process (and thus lacks spines).

Figures

FIGURE 8. Otostigmus (Otostigmus) cuneiventris, O. (Parotostigmus) coltellus n. sp., O. (P.) gemmifer and O. (P.) productus, distribution records of specimens from Africa housed in the NHM collection.

FIGURES 4–7. Otostigmus (Otostigmus) cuneiventris Porat, 1893, from Tanzania: Figure 4, cephalic plate and T1, dorsal view, scale bar 0.5 mm; Figure 5, forcipular segment, ventral view, scale bar 0.5 mm; Figure 6, tergite of ultimate leg-bearing segment and ultimate leg prefemora, dorsal view, scale bar 0.5 mm; Figure 7, ultimate leg-bearing segment and ultimate leg prefemora, ventral view, scale bar 0.5 mm.