Newportia ernsti ernsti Pocock, 1891

Schileyko, Arkady A., 2014, A contribution to the centipede fauna of Venezuela (Chilopoda: Scolopendromorpha), Zootaxa 3821 (1), pp. 151-192 : 160-162

Newportia ernsti ernsti Pocock, 1891

Figs 13–18

Newportia ernsti: Attems, 1930: 281 ;

Newportia ernsti: Bücherl, 1959: 236 ;

Newportia ernsti: Schileyko & Minelli, 1998: 274 ; Newportia ernsti: Schileyko, 2002: 498 ; Newportia ernsti: Schileyko, 2013: 14 .

Locus typicus: Venezuela, Capital District, Municipio Libertador, Caracas.

Material. [Miranda State, Municipio Plaza], [loc.14], leg MGP: 1 ad + 2 sad + 2 juv, 37, Bds, Izcaragua [Country] Club, digging on the terrace, 750, soil, 22.12.1985, N 7281; 1 sad, 38.2, Izcaragua Club, soil digging, 30 x 30, 0 7.01.1986, N 7282. [Capital District, El Ávila National Park], [loc.15], N 39, M. Avila, Caracas, top soil litter by hands, m 950, litter, 1 ad + 2 juv, 24.12.1985, leg MGP, N 7079. Aragua State, leg MGP: 1 sad, [loc.6], N 48, Guamita, Parque H. Pittier, rotten wood on top soil, 950, 28.12.1985, N 7284; 1 juv, [loc.3], N 17, Portachuelo, Parco Pittier, 1250, selva nublada, TF, soil, 0 2.1987, N 7283; 2 juv, [loc.4], 66.1, Rancho Grande, Parco Pittier, close to Lab., on Musa sp. etc., 1200, litter, Musa sp. and others, 0 5.01.1986, N 7280. 13 specimens in all.

Additional material. Dominican Republic, Prov. La Vega, 2 spec, N 6760. Brazil, Amazônas State, env. Manaos, 11 spec, NN 6700, 6701, 6703, 6707, 6795, 7033, 7053.

Description of adult N 7079. Length of body ca 30 mm (maximal length for this species to 45 mm). Color in ethanol: entire animal uniformly light-yellow. Body with small very sparse setae; tibia and tarsus of both legs and ultimate legs visibly more setose.

Antennae short, some apical articles missing. 4 (5) basal articles with very few long setae, subsequent articles densely pilose. Basal articles cylindrical.

Cephalic plate ( Fig. 13 ) very slightly longer than wide with posterior margin rounded. Incomplete (as long as 1/2 of cephalic plate) paramedian sutures are crossed by hardly visible transverse suture close to the posterior margin of cephalic plate.

Second maxillae: article 2 of telopodite distally with a dorsal spur (usual in Newportia ); pretarsus without accessory spines.

Forcipular segment: coxosternite with distinct and long median suture; chitin-lines poorly-developed (“short” according to the Schileyko & Minelli, 1998). Anterior margin of coxosternite concave ( Fig. 14 ) divided by median diastema in two sclerotised lobes. These lobes form a very obtuse angle. Trochanteroprefemur practically without process (“with a median tooth” according to the Schileyko & Minelli, 1998). Tarsungula normal, their interior surface with three parallel longitudinal ridges, which are less developed than in the specimens of Venezuelan Scolopocryptops studied.

Tergites: anterior margin of tergite 1 covered by the cephalic plate. Tergite 1 with curved anterior transverse suture ( Fig. 13 ) and complete paramedian sutures, the latter are divided by anterior transverse suture in anterior (shorter) and posterior (longer) parts. The anterior portions of paramedian sutures of tergite 1 are clearly converging anteriorly. Tergites 3–22 with complete paramedian sutures; tergites 5–21 with very poorly-developed median keel and distinct lateral longitudinal sutures. Tergite 23 lacks sutures, slightly wider than long, somewhat narrowed towards convex posterior margin; its sides curved. Only tergite 23 has distinct lateral margination.

Sternites 2–21 with median sulcus, without transverse sulcus. Sternites 3–21 with short lateral sutures anteriorly; these sutures may be not well-developed. Ultimate sternite nearly as long as wide and narrowed posteriorly; its posterior margin practically straight (or very slightly concave) ( Fig. 15 ). Sternites 2–22 with welldeveloped endosternites.

Legs: prefemur and femur with a few setae, tibia and tarsus more setose; legs (1?)2–21 with a tarsal spur in a proximal half. Legs 1 and 20 with ventral tibial spur, legs 2–19 with both lateral and ventral tibial spurs, legs 21–22 without tibial spurs. Tarsus of legs 1–21 undivided, tarsus of leg 22 consists of tarsus 1 and 2. All legs with normal pretarsus and two accessory spines.

Coxopleuron ( Figs 15, 16 ) (excluding coxopleural process) longer than sternite 23, nearly completely covered with coxal pores of various size—only coxopleural process and a narrow area bordering posterior margin of coxopleuron remaining poreless. Conical coxopleural process very short, its tip distinctly orientated dorsally forming a kind of claw ( Fig. 16 ). Coxopleural surface without setae. Posterior margin of ultimate pleuron does not form any angle/process.

Ultimate legs ( Figs 17, 18 ): long and slender (width of prefemur ca 0.6 mm), some apical articles of both left ( Fig. 17 ) and right tarsus 2 are missing, length of the remaining part about 7 mm; juvenile specimen from this sample is 14–15 mm long with ultimate legs of 5–6 mm ( Fig. 18 ). Prefemur, femur, tibia and tarsus 1 strongly flattened dorso-ventrally (not triangular in cross-section). Prefemur, femur and tibia are practically of the same length (or tibia is slightly shorter). Juvenile specimen from this sample has tarsus 1 approximately half as long as tibia and tarsus 2 approximately as long as prefemur and femur combined ( Fig. 18 ). Prefemur with a row of 6 ventro-lateral spinous processes, the most basal one is smaller than others. Femur with 2 small ventro-lateral spinous processes. Tarsus is divided into flattened, enlarged tarsus 1 and tarsus 2 which is cylindrical in crosssection, the secondary articles not well-divided.

Range (from Schileyko & Minelli, 1998). St. Vincent; Haiti; Dominican Republic; Brazil (Amazônas; Pará, Aurá; Mato Grosso: Pernambuco); Peru (Region Loreto, Iquitos).

In Venezuela. Capital District, Municipio Libertador, El Ávila National Park; “Caracas, St. Rosa”. Miranda State, Municipio Plaza, Izcaragua Country Club. Aragua State: Municipio Mario Briceño Iragorry, Henri Pittier National Park. “Territorio Federal Amazônas”, Santa Rosa de Amanadona.

Variation. 1. In adult specimen N 7079 the cephalic transverse suture is definite, but in 2 juveniles of N 7079 and in 3 juveniles of NN 7280, 7283 this suture is poorly-developed (practically not recognizable). The same condition is observed in some Brazilian specimens (for example, juvenile N 6707). This fact reduces the gap between N. e. ernsti and N. e. fossulata Bücherl, 1942.

2. The only specimen of N 7282 has posterior margin of cephalic plate covered by tergite 1 and very unclear cephalic transverse suture.

Remarks. N. ernsti is the only Venezuelan representative of this genus which has legs with both lateral and ventral tibial spurs.

Figures

FIGURES 10 – 13. Scolopocryptops guacharensis Manfredi, 1957 (adult N 7167) 10 leg of midbody segment, lateral view 11 leg 22, lateral view; Newportia longitarsis stechowi Verhoeff, 1938 12 adult N 7304: harpoon-like tip of spinous process of prefemur of ultimate leg, lateral view; Newportia ernsti ernsti Pocock, 1891 13 adult N 7079: cephalic plate and segment 1, dorsal view; (utl) — undivided tarsus of leg, (t) — tibia of leg, (vsp) — ventral spinous process of ultimate prefemur, (ht) — harpoon-like tip of spinous process, (ats) — anterior transverse suture.

FIGURES 14 – 18. Newportia ernsti ernsti Pocock, 1891 14 adult N 7079: head, forcipular segment and segment 1, ventral view 15 adult N 7079: segment 23, ventral view 16 adult N 7079: segment 23, ventro-lateral view 17 adult N 7079: segment 23 and left ultimate leg, ventro-medial view 18 juvenile N 7079: left ultimate leg, medial view; (am) — anterior margin of forcipular coxosternite, (ust) — sternite of ultimate leg-bearing segment, (cx) — coxopleuron, (cxp) — coxopleural process, (pm) — posterior margin of pleuron of segment 23, (ut 1) — tarsus 1 of ultimate leg, (ut 2) — tarsus 2 of ultimate leg.