Scolopocryptops miersii, Newport, 1845

Schileyko, Arkady, Iorio, Etienne & Coulis, Mathieu, 2024, A synthesis on the scolopendromorph centipedes (Chilopoda: Scolopendromorpha) of Martinique, with description of Cryptops (Trigonocryptops) amicitia n. sp. and new data on some Neotropical scolopendromorphs, Zootaxa 5486 (4), pp. 563-599 : 587-589

Scolopocryptops miersii Newport, 1845

Figs 37–41

Locus typicus: St. Vincent Island, Lesser Antilles.

Recent material from Martinique. 1 spm, HC, Morne-Rouge , morne Calebassier, SF, 740 m a.s.l., lat.14,79976, long. -61,14351, leg. MC, 31.01.2019 ( CAEC, 820); 1 spm, TE, Saint-Joseph, Plateau Perdrix, PF, 550 m a.s.l., lat.14,68827, long. -61,08061, leg. MC, 03.06.2018 ( CAEC, 837); 1 spms, HC, Basse-pointe, Haut Gradis, BN, 327 m a.s.l., lat.14,84097, long. -61,13619, leg. MC, 25.05.2018 ( CBGP, FAUN 17340 ) ; 1 spm, TE, Ajoupa-Bouillon , EDEN, BN, 282 m a.s.l., lat.14,81295, long. -61,11506, leg. MEJ, 03.05.2018 ( CAEC, 812); 1 spm, TE, Basse-pointe, Gradis, Palm forest, 354 m a.s.l., lat.14,83892, long. -61,1361, leg. MEJ, 25.05.2018 ( CAEC, 808) .

Additional material. Brazil: 29 spms ( ZMMU, Rc 6978–6984, 6996, 7177–7192), Pará State ; 1 sad. + 1juv. ( ZMMU, Rc 7193, Rc 7194), Amapá State . Argentina, Misiones Province (Puerto Iguazú), 3 ad. ( ZMMU, Rc 7221–7223) .

Diagnosis. 2–3 basal antennal articles virtually lacking setae;cephalic plate not marginate laterally and posteriorly. Forcipular coxosternite with incomplete anterior median suture plus anastomosing transverse suture(s), chitin-lines long; anterior margin of coxosternite virtually straight with a single short conical tooth at each side. Tergites 3–22 with complete paramedian sutures, tergite 23 lacks lateral margination. LBS 7 with spiracles. Ultimate leg not setose (only tarsus and tibia setose insignificantly), its prefemur with two spinous processes of usual disposition, of them ventral one is not much larger than dorso-medial one.

Description (based on adult ZMMU Rc 6979).

Body length ca 75 mm, the width of LBS 7 ca 8 mm.

Antenna of 17 articles ( Fig. 37 ), of them 2 basal ones laterally (and 3 ones both dorsally and ventrally) looking glabrous (i.e. covered sparsely with delicate and short semitransparent setae); the following articles densely covered with much longer slim setae, which are organized in definite longitudinal rows from articles 7–9.

Cephalic plate ( Fig. 38 ) nearly as long as wide (or slightly wider than long), very sparsely setose and definitely punctate, not marginate laterally and posteriorly.

Second maxillae: article 2 of telopodite distally with a long, well-developed but semi-transparent dorsal spur; article 3 with well-developed dorsal brush. Pretarsus thin and very short, consisting of two well-distinguishable halves: a darker brown basal and a semi-transparent apical one, which is very delicate and visibly thinner than the basal and. Pretarsal accessory spines absent.

Forcipular segment ( Fig. 39 ): coxosternite, trochanteroprefemora and basal part of tarsungula coarsely and sparsely punctate. Anterior quarter of coxosternite with incomplete median suture, which meets nearly complete and branching/anastomosing transverse suture; chitin-lines long and well-developed. Anterior margin of coxosternite ( Fig. 39 ) strongly sclerotised and (unlike that of S. rubiginosus C.L. Koch, 1878 or S. spinicaudus Wood, 1862 ) practically not divided by a median diastema into two low lobes but forming virtually straight line with a single short conical/triangular tooth/tubercle at each side (a kind of low lateral tooth-plate). Process of trochanteroprefemur very short and blunt, with a distinct basal suture; tarsungulum long, pointed, its interior surface with two smooth longitudinal ridges.

Tergites 1–22 sparsely punctate. Tergite 1 with anterior transverse suture plus “additional” (very thin) complete transverse suture in front of the main one; the “additional” one (see Remarks below) virtually covered by cephalic plate ( Fig. 38 ). Tergite 2 extremely short, approximately 1/5 length of tergite 3, with numerous anastomosing transverse sutures. Tergites 3–22 with complete paramedian sutures ( Fig. 38 ), tergites 4–14 with oblique sutures; incomplete lateral margination on tergites 6(7)–22, margination much better developed at mid body LBS.

Sternites lacking paramedian sutures and any visible depressions.

LBS 7 with spiracles.

Legs 1–21 with monopartite tarsus ( Figs 37, 41 ); legs 1–21 with one tarsal spur, 1–17(18) with two tibial, 18(19)–20(21) with one tibial spur, so leg 22 lacking any spurs; legs 1–22 with two weak pretarsal accessory spines. Distal articles of all legs very sparsely setose.

Ultimate LBS: tergite 23 visibly longer than wide, not marginate laterally ( Fig. 40 ); lateral sides practically parallel to each other, posterior margin considerably convex and slightly bisinuated in the middle. Sternite 23 nearly as long as wide, trapeziform, posterior margin straight ( Fig. 41 ). Coxopleuron considerably longer than sternite 23 and densely covered (except for coxopleural process) by pores of various sizes; posterior margin of corresponding pleuron with well-developed dorsal spine ( Fig. 40 ). Coxopleural process short and pointed, slightly extended over posterior margin of tergite 23.

Ultimate legs ( Figs 40, 41 ) practically not setose (except for tarsus and tibia which are setose insignificantly). Prefemur with two spinous processes of usual disposition, but ventral one not much larger than dorso-medial one; pretarsus with two minute accessory spines.

Ecology in Martinique. Seems to have the same ecology as S. melanostoma , but is less abundant; S. miersii is found more often in anthropogenic habitats than the former species.

Range (after Chagas-Jr 2008, Chagas-Jr et al. 2014, improved). Widely distributed in the Neotropics; Lesser Antilles: Martinique, Santa Lucía [Saint Lucia] Island ( Castries ) , Montserrat Island ( Soufriere ) ; Trinidad Island (Verdant Vale); South America : Guiana, French Guiana, Venezuela (States: Sucre, Carabobo, Falcón, Amazonas, Delta Amacuro), Colombia ( Amazonian Region ) , Brazil (States: Paraná, Amazonas, Amapá, Pará, Rondônia, Ceára, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Goiás, Distrito Federal, Mato Grosso do Sul, Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Curitiba , Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina) , Uruguay (Montevideo) , Argentina (Provinces: Misiones, Chaco, Buenos Aires) .

Remarks. The situation with the anterior transverse “suture” of tergite 1 is exactly as described above for Scolopendra viridicornis —it is much deeper and considerably more sclerotized ( Fig. 38 ) comparing to any other tergal sutures (including the “additional” transverse one, which may be interpreted as a part of so-called “anterior complex”, see Remarks on S. viridicornis ).

Scolopocryptops miersii was described by Attems (1930: 256) and Bücherl (1939: 353); the most recent description (in Portuguese) is of Chagas-Jr (2008: 85), who recorded at page 83 four specimens labeled as “ MARTINICA (MCZ No 33154)”. Chagas-Jr et al. 2014 mentioned for this species the “cis-Andine distribution in low areas of South America” and the altitudinal range from 83 to 200 m.

Figures

FIGURES 37–41. Scolopocryptops miersii Newport, 1845, Rc 6979 (ZMMU). 37. General view, dorsally. Scale bar: 5 mm. 38. Head + LBS 1–3, dorsally. Scale bar: 5 mm. 39. Head + LBS 1 and 2, ventrally. Scale bar: 5 mm. 40. LBS 22 and 23 + legs 22 and 23, dorsally. Scale bar: 5 mm. 41. LBS 22 and 23 + legs 21–23, ventrally. Scale bar: 5 mm.