Thereuonema microstoma (Meinert, 1886) Meinert, 1886

Stoev, Pavel & Geoffroy, Jean-Jacques, 2004, An annotated catalogue of the scutigeromorph centipedes in the collection of the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris (France) (Chilopoda: Scutigeromorpha), Zootaxa 635, pp. 1-12 : 5-6

Thereuonema microstoma (Meinert, 1886) New Combination!

Scutigera microstoma Meinert, 1886b: 173 .

Thereuonema syriaca Verhoeff, 1905b: 88 –90 New Synonymy!

Type locality: a place 70 miles from Amballa and Koolloo, India.

Lectotype: male in ZMUC (present designation); Paralectotypes: female in ZMUC; several specimens of different sex and age in MCZ.

Material examined: The MNHN houses specimens identified by H.W. Brolemann, H. Ribaut and C. Attems from the following localities: SYRIA: Doummar; Koutaïfé; Ataïbe, E of Damas; Aïn­Fidjé, Djebel Kasioun; ERITREA: Saganeiti (sub Scutigera aethiopica Silvestri ); as well as the holotype (adult male) of Thereuonema tropicalis Ribaut, 1907 from Baltchi, Ethiopia. The latter was recognised as a junior synonym of Thereuonema syriaca by Würmli (1975).

General distribution: Asia: India (East). Iran. Iraq. Israel. Jordan. Lebanon. Pakistan. Palestine. Saudi Arabia. Syria. Turkey (East Turkey, Kurdistan region). Yemen. Africa: Egypt. Eritrea. Ethiopia. Libya. Sudan.

Remarks: Meinert (1886b) described Scutigera microstoma from two localities – Amballa and Koolloo (=? Kulu) in NW India, both lying close to the border with Pakistan. Recently, Stoev (2002) noted that this species is identical to Thereuonema syriaca Ve rhoeff, 1905, the latter being widespread from the Near East and eastern Africa to Pakistan and NE India ( Würmli, 1975; Stoev, 2002). We use this opportunity to elucidate the taxonomic status of microstoma and to show that it is a valid species of Thereuonema , conspecific with Verhoeff’s T. syriaca . The syntypes from the collections of the ZMUC and the MCZ were studied (courtesy to Prof. H. Enghoff and Mrs. Laura Leibensperger) and compared with non type material of syriaca from Turkey, Yemen, Iran and Egypt. In spite of the different coloration in the type material, undoubtedly resulting from long preservation in alcohol, we could not find any further differences in the setal ornamentation, shape of terga, second maxillae and female gonopods. Hence, the following new combination and synonymy: Thereuonema microstoma (Meinert, 1886) New Combination = Thereuonema syriaca Verhoeff, 1905 New Synonym. This taxonomic alteration is in agreement with the article 23.1. of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (1999). The name T. syriaca has been cited only in 14 scientific papers published in the period 1905–2003. We cannot predict how long this name will be in use, as there is at least one older candidate to replace it, namely Cermatia rubrilineata Newport, 1844 (not rubrolineata after Newport (1845) and all subsequent authors), a possibility suggested by Haase (1887).