Newportia monticola Pocock, 1890

Schileyko, Arkady A., 2014, A contribution to the centipede fauna of Venezuela (Chilopoda: Scolopendromorpha), Zootaxa 3821 (1), pp. 151-192 : 170-173

Newportia monticola Pocock, 1890

Figs 35–41

Newportia monticola: Attems, 1930: 277 ;

Newportia monticola: Schileyko & Minelli, 1998: 284 ; Newportia monticola: Schileyko, 2002: 498 ;

Newportia monticola: Schileyko, 2013: 51 .

Locus typicus: Ecuador, Chimborazo.

Material. Venezuela, Trujillo State: 1 juv, [loc.19], Boconó, Ande, N 85, la Cristalina, 2500, Subparamo, rotten wood, 0 2.1987, N 7287; 1 ad, [loc.18], Guaramacal National Park, N 76, bosque humedo montano, LI, 2500 m, by hand, 0 2.1987, N 7078; 1 ad, [loc.18], Guaramacal National Park, N 82, 2500, Subparamo, soil 30x30, 0 2.1987, N 7286; 1 ad, [loc.18], Guaramacal National Park, N 57, 3000, Paramo, soil 30x30, 0 2.1987, N 7285. 4 specimens in all.

Additional material. Peru, Region Loreto, Iquitos, 1 subad, N 7195. Brazil, Amazônas, Manaus: 5 subad, NN 6634, 6642, 6644, 7196. Panama, Colon Prov., San Lorenzo forest, 1 ad, N 7156. Jamaica Isl., Manchester Parish, 1 ad, N 6771.

Description of adult N 7078. Length of body ca 39 mm; maximal length for this species 40 mm. Color in ethanol: uniformly yellow with cephalic plate, forcipular segment and ultimate segment somewhat darker. Body with very sparse small setae; distal articles of the legs and ultimate legs more setose.

Antennae composed of 17 articles, reaching the anterior margin of tergite 4 when reflexed. 2.5 basal articles with very few long setae, subsequent articles (from the distal part of the 3rd) densely pilose. Basal articles cylindrical.

Cephalic plate ( Fig. 35 ) longer than wide with posterior margin rounded; this margin with short paramedian sutures.

Second maxillae ( Fig. 36 ): article 2 of telopodite distally with a well-developed dorsal spur. Pretarsus without accessory spines.

Forcipular segment: coxosternite without sutures but very short chitin-lines. Anterior margin of coxosternite divided by median diastema into two strongly sclerotized low lobes, ( Fig. 36 ). Each lobe has a very low lateral tubercle and a long curved setae posterior to sclerotized margin. Trochanteroprefemur without process. Tarsungula of normal length, thin and pointed; their interior surface with two parallel longitudinal ridges.

Anterior margin of tergite 1 covered by the cephalic plate; this tergite ( Fig. 37 ) with an anterior transverse suture in the form of a very obtuse (ca 120°) angle and a shallow median depression just behind its center. Incomplete paramedian sutures of tergite 1 stretch from the posterior tergal margin to the transverse suture. Anterior ends of these sutures bifurcated forming a "W" with their inner branches reaching the median depression. A short transverse suture connects the inner branches of those “forks” thus forming a triangle ( Fig. 37 ). Tergite 2 with a few transverse sutures close to its anterior margin; tergite 3 with thin oblique sutures, bordering anterior corners of this tergite. Less developed oblique sutures present at tergites 4–6. Tergites 2–22 with complete paramedian sutures; tergites 3–20 with lateral longitudinal sutures ( Fig. 35 ). Tergite 23 ( Fig. 38 ) lacks sutures, its posterior margin practically straight. Tergites 1–22 with very unclear lateral margination, only tergite 23 distinctly marginate. Tergite 23 somewhat wider than long, not narrowed posteriorly; its sides slightly curved. Tergites 2–22 with pretergites ( Fig. 35 ).

Sternites: trapeziform; sternites 1–21 with incomplete lateral sutures. Sternites (2)3–21 with well-developed median sulcus which is shortened anteriorly. Sternites 14(15)–22 with well-developed transverse sulcus between the coxae. Sternite 23 narrow, considerably longer than wide narrowing to concave posterior margin ( Fig. 39 ). Well-developed endosternites at sternites (1)2–20.

Legs: basal articles with a few short setae, tarsi more setose. Legs 1–20 with lateral tibial spur; legs 1–22 with undivided tarsus. Pretarsi of legs 2–21 with two small accessory spines; these spines are rudimentary on legs 1 and 22. Pretarsi short, strongly pointed and almost straight.

Coxopleuron ( Figs 39 , 40 ) (excluding coxopleural process) somewhat longer than sternite 23, with scattered coxal pores of various size except for coxopleural process and an area which borders the coxopleuron posteriorly. Coxopleural process long, conical and curved outwards; coxopleural surface without setae. Posterior margin of ultimate pleuron forming an obtuse angle.

Ultimate legs ( Fig. 40 ) long and slender, 13–14 mm long, width of prefemur 0.7–0.8 mm. Prefemur triangular in cross-section, femur practically cylindrical. Right ultimate leg is evidently regenerated being somewhat shorter than left one. Left prefemur ( Fig. 40 ) with a row of 4 (right prefemur with 3; Fig. 39 ) ventral spinous processes. These processes are of the same size and apically curved posteriorly; prefemur with many small spines on the lateral and medial surfaces ( Figs 38–40 ). Femur with 2 small spinous processes ( Fig. 39 ): the medial one is close to base of femur and the ventral one is in the distal third. Tibia cylindrical, practically as long as prefemur and femur. Tarsus divided; tarsus 1 as long as two basal articles of tarsus 2. Tarsus 2 consists of nine distinct articles; ultimate article very long (as long as 7th and 8th articles combined).

Range. Ecuador: Chimboraso; La Dormida; Paramo el Angel; Galapagos Islands. Colombia. Costa Rica: Volcano Yrazu; Cocos Island; San José. British Guayana: Dunoon. Brazil: Amazônas. Peru: Loreto.

In Venezuela. Mérida State. Aragua State, Municipio Mario Briceño Iragorry, Henri Pittier National Park. Trujillo State, Municipio Boconó, Guaramacal National Park.

Variability. More than 100 specimens of monticola from Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, Jamaica, Costa Rica and Panama examined show some variability in the shape of anterior margin of forcipular coxosternite. In Venezuelan specimens it varies from two very low wide lobes with very small lateral tubercles (for example in NN 7078, 7286; Fig. 36 ) to much narrower but very high and strongly convex margin clearly divided by a median diastema (for example in N 7285; Fig. 41 ).

Some specimens (for example NN 7078, 7286 as well as all specimens of additional material) have two welldeveloped longitudinal ridges on the mesal surface of forcipular tarsungula, but specimen N 7285 has three of them and in juvenile N 7287 (small and poorly pigmented) these keels are not recognizable at all. Thus in Newportia the number of these ridges seems to be not species-specific (see also Remarks to Scolopocryptops ). It is interesting, that in Venezuelan specimens of N. monticola this character correlates with a shape of anterior margin of forcipular coxosternite, but this correlation is not seen in the additional material.

Schileyko & Minelli (1998: 284) noted the presence of a small forcipular trochanteroprefemur process in some populations of this species.

Figures

FIGURES 35 – 39. Newportia monticola Pocock, 1890 35 adult N 7078: cephalic plate and segments 1 – 3, dorsal view 36 subadult N 7286: forcipular segment, ventral view 37 adult N 7078: segment 1, dorsal view 38 adult N 7078: segment 23, prefemora and femora of ultimate legs, dorsal view 39 adult N 7078: sternite 23, prefemora and femora of ultimate legs, ventrolateral view; (ptm 2) — telopodite of second maxilla, (am) — anterior margin of forcipular coxosternite, (ats) — anterior transverse suture, (ps) — paramedian sutures, (ts) — transverse suture, (ust) — sternite of ultimate leg-bearing segment, (cx) — coxopleuron, (vsp) — ventral spinous processes of ultimate prefemur, (spf) — spinous processes of ultimate femur, (utg) — tergite of ultimate leg-bearing segment, (ptg) — pretergite, (lls) — lateral longitudinal sutures.

FIGURES 40 – 45. Newportia monticola Pocock, 1890 40 adult N 7078: segment 23 and ultimate legs, dorso-lateral view 41 adult N 7285: forcipular segment, ventral view; Newportia sp. (juvenile N 7238) 42 cephalic plate and segments 1 – 3, dorsal view 43 head, forcipular segment and segments 1 – 2, ventral view 44 segment 23 and ultimate legs, ventral view; Scolopendra conjungens Muralewicz, 1913 (= Scolopendra angulata Newport, 1844 syn. nov.) (holotype, adult N 6815) 45 habitus, dorsal view; (vsp) — ventral spinous processes of ultimate prefemur, (ut 1) — tarsus 1 of ultimate leg, (ut 2) — tarsus 2 of ultimate leg, (utr) — undivided tarsus of ultimate legs, (ut) — tibia of ultimate leg, (am) — anterior margin of forcipular coxosternite, (tg 1) — tergite 1.