Hessebius Verhoeff, 1941

Pei, Sujian, Ma, Huiqin, Zapparoli, Marzio & Zhu, Mingsheng, 2010, A review of the Chinese species of Hessebius Verhoeff, 1941 (Chilopoda: Lithobiomorpha: Lithobiidae), Zootaxa 2631, pp. 51-61 : 52

Genus Hessebius Verhoeff, 1941

Verhoeff 1941: 97; non Verhoeff 1943: 117; Zalesskaja 1978: 42; Eason 1981: 329.

Diagnosis. Small to medium sized Lithobiidae (body length, 13–30 mm) with antennae of 17–23 articles, generally 20; 4–15 ocelli on each side; 2+2 moderately small sharp coxosternal teeth; tergites without posterior triangular projections; coxal pores 2–7, arranged in one row; females gonopod with 2+2 – 5+5 spurs, tarsus 1–tarsus 2 articulation of anterior legs (1st–13th) faint but sometime showing obvious flexion, legs 14 and 15 swollen in males; females gonopod with a more or less massive expansion on the dorsolateral ridge of the second article projecting backwards over the third article; males gonopod short and small, of a single article. According to Zalesskaja (1978), among other genera/subgenera of Lithobiidae Hessebius is characterized chiefly by the massive expansion and projection of the dorsolateral ridge of the females gonopod (see also Eason 1981).

Type species. As no type-species was designated, Hessebius Verhoeff, 1941 is actually an unavailable name ( Jeekel 2005: 19; Zapparoli 2006). In accordance with the diagnosis of the genus given by Verhoeff (1941), we herewith select Hessebius kosswigi Verhoeff, 1941 , one of the two species originally included therein by the author, as type species of Hessebius by subsequent designation, validating here the name.

Assigned species. H. armatus Verhoeff, 1943 ; H. barbipes ( Porat, 1893) (= H. hatayensis Ve r h o e ff, 1941?; = H. hatayensis membranaceus Verhoeff, 1941 ?; = H. kosswigii [sic] Verhoeff, 1941? [non Lithobius kosswigi Chamberlin, 1952 ]; = H. matsakisi Matic & Stauropulos, 1990 ; = Lithobius (Archilithobius) pachypus Verhoeff, 1925 ; = Archeobius phanus Chamberlin, 1952 [non Nadabius phanus Chamberlin, 1941 ]; = L. platypus Newport, 1845 ? [non Arebius platypus Chamberlin, 1941 ]; = H. procurvus Zalesskaja, 1978 ; = L. (Oligobothrus) vosseleri Verhoeff, 1941 ?; = L. (A.) vossleri var. propitia Silvestri, 1929 ); H. jangtseanus ( Verhoeff, 1942) ; H. longispinipes Ma, Pei & Zhu, 2009 ; H. (?) megapus (Muralevitch, 1907) (= L. megapus bidens Folkmanová & Dobroruka, 1960 ); H. multicalcaratus Folkmanová, 1958 ; H. major Folkmanová & Dobroruka, 1960 [non Labrobius major Chamberlin, 1941 ; non Nampabius major Chamberlin, 1925 ; non Lithobius porathi major Folkmanov & Dobroruka, 1960 ]; H. multiforaminis sp. nov. (described below); H. perelae Zalesskaja, 1978 ; H. pervagatus Zalesskaja, 1978 ; H. plumatus Zalesskaja, 1978 ; H. styliferus ( Loksa, 1978) n. comb. [synonyms according to Zalesskaja 1978; Eason 1981, 1983, 1992; Zapparoli 1999, 2006].