Otostigmus ( O .) sutteri Würmi, 1972

Lewis, John G. E., 2015, On Verhoeff’s Otostigmus subgenus Malaccopleurus, the nudus group of Otostigmus subgenus Otostigmus Porat, 1876, and Digitipes Attems, 1930, with a description of the foetus stadium larva in O. sulcipes Verhoeff, 1937, (Chilopoda: Scolopendromorpha: Scolopendridae), Zootaxa 4039 (2), pp. 225-248 : 232

Otostigmus ( O.) sutteri Würmi, 1972

( Figs 23–26)

Otostigmus (Malaccopleurus) sutteri Würmi, 1972: 97 , Figs 15–18 . East Sumba, Indonesia.

Diagnosis. Body slender. Length 30 mm. Antennal articles 18, the basal three glabrous dorsally. Forcipular coxosternal tooth-plates with 3+4 teeth. Tergites with complete paramedian sutures from 3, marginate from 13 or 14, without keels or spinules. Sternites with paramedian sulci each ending in a pit and median longitudinal depression ending in a pit. Coxopleural process with two apical spines. Coxopleural pore-field narrow, not expanded anteriorly. Legs 3–20 with a tarsal spur. Ultimate leg prefemur with slight dorsolateral flattening, femur and tibia with very weak grooves. Prefemoral spines VL 1–3, VM 2, M 2–3, DM 2–3, CS 1 (four rows, 11 spines in toto).

Type material examined. NMB. 595a Otostigmus (subg Malaccopleurus) sutteri Würmli HOLOTYPUS Rende Wai, Praj Jawang, Ostsumba 11.6.1949. [Don.: Sumba-Expedition A. Bühler + E. Sutter 1949].

Description ( Würmli’s 1972 description somewhat abbreviated). Length 30 mm. Body very slender, like O. (M.) trisulcatus . Colour: brownish yellow, 2–20 tergites with two green paramedian longitudinal stripes, tergites 3– 8 also with green marginal stripes. Anterior half of head plate pale yellow, the posterior third with two dark spots.

Cephalic plate narrower than the first tergite, shallowly but densely punctate as are tergite 1 and the forcipules. Antennae of 18 articles, distally green (re-examination shows articles 1–3 with sparse setae dorsally, article 3 with small area of dense setae anteriomedially). Forcipular coxosternal tooth-plates longer than wide, without deep incision (i.e. teeth not separated by a deep groove into two groups) with 3+4 teeth ( Fig. 23). Tergite 1 very wide, tergites with complete paramedian sutures from 3, marginate from 13 or 14 (a weak median ridge on some). Tergite of ultimate leg-bearing segment as long as wide with posterior median depression and hind margin curved (ausgebuchtet). Sternites with complete paramedian sulci, each ending in a pit and a median sulcus with a pit at the posterior end ( Fig. 24). In addition one or two scarcely visible marginal sulci present. (Not clear whether paramedian sutures are present. The apparent extent of paramedian sulci varies with angle of illumination). Sternite of ultimate leg-bearing segment with posterior margin rounded ( Fig. 25). Coxopleura each with about 30 pores restricted to the ventral side, the pore-field “equally wide”. Coxopleural process short with two apical spines.

Legs 1 and 2 without, 3–20 with a tarsal spur. Ultimate legs very long, prefemora 3½ to 4 times as long as wide with a weak bevelling (Abflachung) dorsolaterally. Ultimate femur and tibia with a very weak groove (Furche), dorsomedially with a very weak bevelling. (The groove only seen on the tibia when viewed at certain angles ( Fig. 26)). Prefemoral spines VL 3, VM 2, M 2, DM 2, CS 1.

Remarks. Otostigmus sutteri ( Table 1 ) is clearly very closely related to O. sulcipes from which it may be distinguished by the presence of tarsal spurs on legs 3–20 as opposed to none or on legs 1 (or 1 and 2) only. A small specimen, it differs from O. geophilinus as presently understood having tarsal spurs on legs 3 to 20, rather than 1 to 19. The absence of tarsal spurs on legs 1 and 2 is unusual and may be an artefact but the presence on leg 20 may be significant. It is possible that O. sutteri is conspecific with O. geophilinus in which case it would be a junior synonym but it is retained pro tem.

Figures

FIGURES 9–16. Foetus stadium Otostigmus sulcipes Malacca. 9. Distal four articles showing article 16 subdivided into two beneath the foetal cuticle spm 1. 10. Cephalic plate spm. 1. 11. Detail of cephalic plate showing possible ocelli spm. 2. 12. Pretarsus of second maxillary telopodite spm.1. 13. Forcipular coxosternal tooth-plates spm. 1. 14. Coxopleuron and sternite of ultimate leg-bearing segment spm. 1, ventral view. 15. Ultimate leg prefemur spm. 2. 16. Detail of ultimate leg prefemur showing developing spines. FIGURES 17–22. Otostigmus trisulcatus 17. Forcipular coxopleural tooth-plates syntype 13365. 18. Left forcipular trochanteroprefemoral process, the same. 19. Sternite 14, the same. 20. Coxopleuron and sternite of ultimate leg-bearing segment and ultimate leg prefemoral, the same, ventral view (coxal pores not shown). 21. Right coxopleuron syntype ZMB 13365, slide 4002. 22. Ultimate leg prefemur syntype 13365, dorsal view. Scale bars = 0.5 mm except Fig. 12, 13 & 16 = 0.1 mm.