Otostigmus malayanus Chamberlin, 1914

Lewis, J. G. E., 2002, A re-examination of 11 species of Otostigmus from the Indo- Australian region described by R. V. Chamberlin based on type specimens in the collection of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard (Chilopoda; Scolopendromorpha; Scolopendridae), Journal of Natural History 36 (14), pp. 1687-1706 : 1693-1694

Otostigmus malayanus Chamberlin, 1914

(gures 18–22)

Otostigmus malayanus Chamberlin, 1914: 287 gures 4, 5.

Otostigmus (O.) malayanu s: Attems, 1930: 154.

1694 J. G. E. Lewis

Material examined

Holotype labelled TC-634 (1132) Malay Peninsula, Johore State. 10 January 1907. Thomas Barber coll. 1906 –1907.

Description

(Chamberlin’s data are given in parentheses where appropriate). The specimen is curved and looks as if it has dried out at some time and most of the legs have become detached.

Body length about 27 mm. Head and rst tergite nely punctate. Antennomeres 20 and 41 (21), the basal two glabrous (2–2.3). Forcipular coxosternal teeth 41 4 with very small fth median tooth (gure 18). Process of femoroid with two inner teeth.

Tergites with complete paramedian sutures from 6, marginate from 7 (from the third caudad sharply marginate), with a well-marked median keel and, on each side from 12, two well-marked keels, a third less de nite lateral to these and traces of a fourth, giving nine in all (gure 19). Spines small, scattered and easily overlooked, most obvious on the lateral margins of the posterior segments (tergites from the fth on, and somewhat obscurely also from the third and fourth with seven more or less clearly de ned longitudinal keels which are not sharp edged. Keels, especially caudad, nely but neither nely (sic) nor especially conspicuously scabrous).

Sternites without tubercles. Paramedian sutures occupying anterior two-thirds of sternites, each terminating in small depression (gure 20) otherwise without pits (in the anterior region mostly cross the entire plate). Sternite 21 with sides strongly converging posteriorly, with posterior border concave (gure 21).

Most legs missing (rst 15 pairs of legs with two tarsal spines, 16–19 with one, 20 without).

Coxopleural process of end legs short, with two end spines, one subapical and one lateral spine on left and probably two end spines, two subapical and one lateral on right (gure 22). Note: some spines are represented by small scars. No dorsal spines. (Terminating in four points or spines. A single lateral spine.) End legs wanting.

Remarks

Chamberlin (1914) stated that ‘this species stands closest to O. scaber Porat, 1876 from China, Siam and the Nicobars, and O. insularis Haase, 1886 , from Ceylon and the Seychelles. From the former it is readily separated in having two tarsal spines on the rst fteen pairs of legs instead of on the rst seven only and from the latter in having no tarsal spine on the twentieth legs, in having fewer pairs with 2 tarsal spines, 15 instead of 18 and in having the antennae 21-jointed, etc.’ This statement is correct except that both O. scaber and O. insularis may have 21 antennomeres.

Attems (1930) noted that O. malayanus can hardly be distinguished from O. insularis . The absence of a tarsal spine on leg 20 and the rst 15 pairs of legs with two tarsal spines, rather than the rst 18 he regarded as insuYcient for speci c discrimination but did not state formally that O. malayanus was a junior synonym of O. insularis .

It seems probable that O. scaber and O. insularis are one and the same species but this should be con rmed by the examination of the type material. Pending this