Cryptops (T.) iheringi ( Brölemann, 1902 ), 1816

Schileyko, Arkady, Iorio, Etienne & Coulis, Mathieu, 2024, A synthesis on the scolopendromorph centipedes (Chilopoda: Scolopendromorpha) of Martinique, with description of Cryptops (Trigonocryptops) amicitia n. sp. and new data on some Neotropical scolopendromorphs, Zootaxa 5486 (4), pp. 563-599 : 583-585

Cryptops (T.) iheringi ( Brölemann, 1902)

Figs 32, 33

Locus typicus: Brazil, São Paulo State, Santo André, Alto da Serra.

Material. Argentina, Buenos Aires Province, Cueva del Torro , 1 ad. ( ZMMU, Rc 7315) .

Diagnosis (based on adult ZMMU, Rc 7315). Body length up to 75 (!) mm. Cephalic plate with complete paramedian sutures. Clypeus with large rhomboid setose plate, which bears (at least) 3 long setae. Forcipular coxosternite with well-developed median suture as long as 1/3 length of coxosternite; anterior margin of coxosternite strongly bilobed with 6+6 enlarged marginal setae.

Tergite 1 ( Fig. 32 ) with anterior transverse suture and complete paramedian sutures, its anterior margin covered by cephalic plate; tergites 2–20 with complete paramedian sutures. Sternites 1–19 with incomplete (much shortened both anteriorly and posteriorly) median longitudinal sulcus, 2–19 ones with well-developed transverse sulcus (neither suture nor ridge) between the coxae. Sternites (4)5–8(9) with X-shaped trigonal sutures, sternites 5–8 with these sutures well-developed. Leg’s pretarsi with accessory spines well-developed, nearly as long as ½ length of corresponding pretarsus.

Ultimate LBS: oval coxopleural pore field bordered posteriorly by a wide poreless area with two enlarged spur-like setae ( Fig. 33 ) on posterior part of pore field and some setae on coxopleural posterior margin. Both the prefemur and femur of the ultimate legs have numerous long and enlarged (i.e., spur-like) setae medially and ventrally, like those of the coxopleuron. Ultimate femur with 1, tibia with 7–9 and tarsus 1 with 3 saw teeth.

Range. Northeastern Argentina; Southeastern and Southern Brazil; also recorded by Bücherl (1939: 352, 1942: 324, 1974: 123 from Central (Mato Grosso and Amazonas States), Eastern (Goiás, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro States) and Southern (Sao Paolo and Paraná States) Brazil.

Remarks. As well as Scolopendra viridicornis , the species under discussion appears to be well known, but the only recent (very short) morphological data on it are of Ázara & Ferreira (2013: 442); the most recent mention is by Guizze et al. (2016), but it does not contain any useful data on morphology.

Thus the most recent detailed morphological data on Cryptops (Trigonocryptops) iheringi belong to Ribaut (1913: 70), Attems (1930: 233) (who just repeated the original description and the data of Kraepelin 1903: 42) and to Bücherl (1939: 351). The later author gave a very detailed description (in German) and provided it with an informative fig. 19 of the right ultimate leg; on the same page 351 he reasonably synonymised C. (T.) triangulifer Verhoeff, 1937 with C. (T.) iheringi (this synonymy is omitted in Bonato et al. 2016).

The only specimen at hand (adult ZMMU, Rc 7315) was recovered from a dry state and is therefore contorted and deformed, so the conditions of some delicate characters (for example the tergal and cephalic sutures) are difficult to observe. This adult has antennae consisting of 7+8 (!) much elongated articles ( Fig. 32 ), of them two basal ones with a few long setae (literally “glabrous”)—we regard such unusual/abnormal structure/shape of antennae to be an obvious result of regeneration.

This seems to be one of the largest (if not the largest) species of the subgenus Trigonocryptops (and of the genus Cryptops sensu lato)—we read in Chagas-Jr et al. (2014: 152): “It is a large species of Cryptops , about 60 mm to 92 (!) mm long”.

According to the Chagas-Jr & Bichuette (2018: 28) this species is “very common in southeastern and southern Brazil ”. Chagas-Jr et al. (2014: 149) wrote that “… and Cryptops iheringi are excluded from the centipede fauna of Colombia because of misidentification [of Ribaut 1913] and lack of representatives in the collections examined”.

Figures

FIGURES 32–36. Cryptops (Trigonocryptops) iheringi (Brölemann, 1902), Rc 7315 (ZMMU). 32. Head + LBS 1 and 2, dorsally. 33. LBS 21 + prefemur and femur of left leg 20, ventrally. Cryptops (T.) sarasini furcatus (Ribaut, 1923), Rc 7502 (ZMMU). 34. LBS 1, dorsally. 35. LBS 21 + ultimate leg, ventrally. Scolopocryptops melanostoma Newport, 1845, Rc 7503 (ZMMU). 36. General view, dorsally. Scale bar: 5 mm.