Paralamyctes (Haasiella) cammooensis, Edgecombe, 2004

Edgecombe, Gregory D., 2004, The henicopid centipede Haasiella (Chilopoda: Lithobiomorpha): new species from Australia, with a morphology-based phylogeny of Henicopidae, Journal of Natural History 38 (1), pp. 37-76 : 40

P. (Haasiella) cammooensis Group

Diagnosis. P. ( Haasiella ) with 17 antennal articles; ocellus weakly convex; Tömösváry organ large, behind ocellus, situated relatively posteriorly on cephalic pleurite; dental margin of maxillipede moderately V-shaped, each half bearing three to five teeth; posterior margin of TT7, 9, 11 and 13 transverse, all tergites lacking projections; distal spinose projections on tibiae of legs 1–12, lacking on legs 13–15; two coxal pores on legs 12–15 in females, one or two pores on these coxae in males.

Assigned species. Paralamyctes (Haasiella) cammooensis n. sp.; Paralamyctes (Haasiella) ginini n. sp.; Paralamyctes (Haasiella) sp.

Discussion. Membership of two new Australian species, Paralamyctes cammooensis and P. ginini , in P. ( Haasiella ) is indicated by the following characters: a deep longitudinal median furrow on the head shield extending back to the transverse suture, and a large, bell-shaped sternite on the first maxillary coxosternite (diagnostic characters of Paralamyctes sensu Edgecombe, 2001 ); bipinnulate mandibular aciculae, a diminutive inner tooth on the dental margin of the maxillipede, and unjointed tarsi on legs 1–12 (possessed by species of Haasiella ); and, a flattened ocellus [shared by several species of P. (Thingathinga) and P. ( Haasiella )]. An enlarged Tömösváry organ situated relatively posteriorly on the cephalic pleurite in the P. (H.) cammooensis Group resembles that of P. (Haasiella) trailli (figure 1I of Edgecombe et al., 2002). The dental margin of the maxillipede is more deeply V-shaped in the P. (H.) cammooensis Group than in other species of P. ( Haasiella ).

Lamyctes bipartitus Lawrence, 1960 , named for a single male from Madagascar (MNHN collection), resembles P. (H.) cammooensis and P. (H.) ginini in several features of external morphology. Assessment of this species is based on study of the holotype together with two females and an additional male from Parc National d’Ankarafantsika, Mahajanga Province (CASENT 9001624). Each of these species typically possesses 17 antennal articles; elsewhere in post-larval Henicopinae , this reduced number of articles is known only in P. (Paralamyctes) harrisi Archey, 1922 , and P. (P.) newtoni ( Silvestri, 1917). The Malagasy and Queensland / New South Wales species in particular have similar dentition (four or five small, pointed teeth) on the maxillipede margin. Lawrence (1960) had observed bipartitus to be atypical of Lamyctes with respect to its reduced antennal segmentation, large number of teeth on the maxillipede, and undivided male first genital sternite. He speculated that additional material might reveal the species to represent a new genus. The median furrow on the head shield in ‘ L.’ bipartitus is continuous to the transverse suture, indicating membership in Paralamyctes . The unjointed tarsi would suggest an assignment to P. ( Haasiella ), and the species resembles the P. (H.) cammooensis Group with respect to its lack of tergite projections and few coxal pores (1,2,2,2 / 1,2, 2,2 in males, 2,3,3,3 / 2,3, 3,3 in females of P. bipartitus ). However, certain detailed characters instead suggest an alternative assignment to P. ( Paralamyctes ). In particular, the mandibular aciculae are developed as uniquely characteristic of that subgenus, with a row of digitiform, distally pointed pinnules confined to the dorsal edge of each acicula (figure 34A) versus both sides of the aciculae pinnulate in P. ( Haasiella ). As well, the Tömösváry organ is situated on the ventral margin of the head rather than on the cephalic pleurite, a condition observed only in certain species of P. ( Paralamyctes ) (see character 7 in the Appendix). Lawrence (1960) described an absence of distal spinose projections on the tibiae of legs 13–15 in the Malagasy species, but the holotype has a blunt projection on leg 13, and this projection is well-developed on leg 13 in the three specimens from Parc National d’Ankarafantsika. Features suggestive of the P. (H.) cammooensis Group, such as the lack of tergite projections, indistinct tarsal articulations, and few coxal pores, are typical juvenile traits of henicopids, and are perhaps accounted for by small size. Evidence from the mandibular aciculae and position of the Tömösváry organ makes membership of P. bipartitus in P. ( Paralamyctes ) most probable.