Mecistocephalus ethodon Chamberlin, 1959

Thofern, Detlef, Dupérré, Nadine & Harms, Danilo, 2021, An annotated type catalogue of the centipedes (Myriapoda: Chilopoda) held in the Zoological Museum Hamburg, Zootaxa 4977 (1), pp. 1-103 : 26

25. Mecistocephalus ethodon Chamberlin, 1959

Fig. 7A

Chamberlin 1959: 22 (2), figs. 1, 2 (as Mecistocephalus ethodon n. sp.)

Type locality and specimens. Localities.—North Kanara, Mandurli. Two specimens taken Dec. 22, 1955 —Timli, Siwalik. These partly grown and apparently variant specimens taken August 25, 1955.

Dimensions. Pairs of legs, 49.—Length, 80 mm.

Type material. Lectotype and 3 paralectotypes. INDIA: ( ZMH-A0000549 ), North Kanara , Mandurli [today part of Kali Tiger Reserve] [ca. 15°07’N, 74°23’E]; paralectotypes ( ZMH-A0000548 , ZMH-A0003232-3233 ), Ut- tarakhand, Sivālik Range, Timli [30°22’19’’N, 77°43’11’’E].

Preservation. 2 jars. Jar 1 (Lectotype, ZMH-A0000549 ): Label 1. D. Indien Exp. Nr. 191, Eing. Nr. 1, 1956. (imprint); Label 2. Nord Kanara, Mandurli; Label 3. Mecistocephalus ethodon Chamberlin 1 Syntypus (card with the imprint: Zoologisches Museum Hamburg); Label 4. SYNTYPES Mecis. Ethodon Chamb. (- R. Crabill, 29.VII.1964) (Crabill handwriting); Label 5. When seen, 8.VIII.62, the maxillae were absent. R. Crabill (Crabill handwriting). Jar 2 (Paralectotypes ZMH-A0000548 , ZMH-A0003232-3233 ): Label 1. D. Indien Exp. Nr. 6??, Eing. Nr. 1, 1956. (imprint); Label 2. Timli, Siwalik 25.7.1956 (imprint); Label 3. Mecistocephalus ethodon Chamberlin 3 Syntypen (label with the imprint: Zoologisches Museum Hamburg); Label 4. SYNTYPES Mecis. Ethodon Chamb. (- R. Crabill, 29.VII.1964) (Crabill handwriting) .

Old type catalogue. Weidner (1960), p. 62, No. 21. Syntypes 2, paratypes 4.

Taxonomic remarks. Bonato & Minelli (2004) studied all specimens and fixed the specimen from North Kanara as the lectotype, followed by establishing the synonymy of M. ethodon with M. superior , the latter having priority. They also noted that the specimens from Timli actually belong to a different species which is M. silvestrii .

Additional remarks. Since a lectotype is now designated, North Kanara (and not Timli) is the type locality for this species.

Collection remarks. All specimens were collected during the German Expedition to India 1955–58.

Current systematic position. Junior synonym of Mecistocephalus superior (Silvestri, 1919) according to Bonato & Minelli (2004: 29).

Figures

FIGURE 7. A. Mecistocephalus ethodon Chamberlin, 1959. Paralectotype (ZMH-A0000548). B. Orya barbarica tripolitana Verhoeff, 1907. Syntype (ZMH-A0003529). Scale bars: 1.0mm.