Strigamia cottiana ( Verhoeff, 1935 )

Bonato, Lucio, Dányi, László, Socci, Antonio Augusto & Minelli, Alessandro, 2012, Species diversity of Strigamia Gray, 1843 (Chilopoda: Linotaeniidae): a preliminary synthesis, Zootaxa 3593, pp. 1-39 : 12

Strigamia cottiana ( Verhoeff, 1935)

Synonym: Scolioplanes dalmazzensis Verhoeff 1935 .

References for morphology: Verhoeff 1935 (also sub Scolioplanes dalmazzensis ); Iorio, 2008. Taxonomic notes. Described originally as a species of Scolioplanes , it was assigned to Strigamia by Minelli & Zapparoli (1985). Doubts were occasionally expressed as to its distinction from S. acuminata ( Minelli & Zapparoli 1985, 1992), but it has been maintained as a distinct species since Foddai et al. (1995).

Scolioplanes dalmazzensis was described by Verhoeff (1935) in the same publication in which he described S. cottiana . Its validity was rejected by Minelli & Zapparoli (1985, 1992), who submerged it under S. acuminata together with S. cottiana . Foddai et al. (1995) considered S. dalmazzensis to be identical to S. cottiana , and adopted the latter as the valid name for the species (I.C.Z.N. 1999: art. 24.2). We confirm the synonymy between the two species, because their original descriptions are fully consistent in all characters of recognized taxonomic value, including the number of trunk segments that is unusually high for a Strigamia species in Europe. Only minor differences were described by Verhoeff (1935) between the holotypes of the two species, regarding relative size of the second maxillary claw and shape of the anterior margin of the forcipular coxosternite, the basal denticle of tarsungulum and the posterior margin of the ultimate metasternite; such minor differences are expected within intraspecific variation. It is worth noting that the type localities of the two species are close to each other (see Appendix 2).

Distribution: Cottian and Maritime Alps.