Eupolybothrus spiniger (Latzel, 1888)

Akkari, Nesrine, Komericki, Ana, Weigand, Alexander M., Edgecombe, Gregory D. & Stoev, Pavel, 2017, A new cave centipede from Croatia, Eupolybothrusliburnicus sp. n., with notes on the subgenus Schizopolybothrus Verhoeff, 1934 (Chilopoda, Lithobiomorpha, Lithobiidae), ZooKeys 687, pp. 11-43 : 12-15

Eupolybothrus spiniger (Latzel, 1888) Figs 8, 11E

Lithobus spiniger Latzel, 1888: 93.

Material.

Lectotype. adult ♂, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1887, J. Karlinski leg., NHMW 1463, new designation. Paralectotype. 1 subadult ♂, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1887, J. Karlinski leg., NHMW 8330.

Original description

(translated from Latin). 'Robust, slightly punctate to smooth, posteriorly granulate, chestnut to reddish-brown; glossy. Two antennae slightly elongate, with 50-56 articles. Ocelli on each side: 16-19 (1 + 4, 4, 4, 3 - 1 + 4, 5, 5, 3, 1), in 4-5 longitudinal rows. Forcipular coxosternum: with 14-22 short teeth (7 + 7 - 11 + 11). Tergites 9, 11, 13 with posterior pointed projections, 14 with irregular margin, gradually narrowing posteriad in two pointed projections; coxal pores numerous, round, placed in irregular rows. Ultimate legs: elongate and robust with simple claw; spines: 1, 1, 4, 2, 0-1, coxa with 3 spines on lateral margins. In male ultimate legs, third article (femur) with a large protuberance anteriorly, and indented internal margins. Female: 28-35 mm long, 3.5-4 mm broad.'

Descriptive notes based on the lectotype.

Specimen with broken antenna; 15th legs detached, missing terminal articles, left legs 1, 3, 5 and part of the left forcipule missing.

Body length: (from anterior margin of cephalic plate to posterior margin of telson) ca. 33 mm.

Colour: reddish brown, head and first tergite darker.

Head: cephalic plate slightly broader than long (3.5 × 3.8 mm, respectively) and wider than T1 (Fig. 8B); surface smooth, with marks of scattered setae. Cephalic median sulcus contributing to biconvex anterior margin, marginal ridge with a median thickening; posterior margin straight to slightly concave; transverse suture situated at about 1/3rd of anterior edge; posterior limbs of transverse suture visible, connecting basal antennal article with anterior part of the ocellar area.

Ocelli: 18, blackish, in 4 irregular rows; outermost first seriate ocellus largest; ocelli of the middle two rows medium-sized, those of inferior row smallest.

Tömösváry’s organ: moderately large (as large as a medium ocellus), oval and situated on a sub-triangular sclerotisation below the inferiormost row of seriate ocelli.

Clypeus: showing a cluster of 30 setae situated on the apex and near the lateral margins (Fig. 8C).

Antennae: Broken, with more than 54 articles.

Forcipular segment: Coxosternum with 9+9 teeth and a porodont situated lateral of the distalmost tooth on both sides (Fig. 8D, E).

Tergites: T1 wider than long, subtrapeziform, wider anteriorly (Fig. 8B), posterior margin straight or slightly emarginated, marginal ridge with a small median thickening; TT3 and 5 more elongated than T1, posterior margin slightly emarginated medially, posterior angles rounded; posterior angles of T4 rounded; posterior margin of T8 slightly emarginated medially, angles rounded (Fig. 8F); TT6, 7 without posterior projections (Fig. 8G), TT9, 11, 13 with posterior triangular projections (Fig. 8A, H), T14 with posterior margin gradually narrowing into two sub-triangular projections densely covered with setae indicated by marks on tergites (Fig. 8H); intermediate tergite hexagonal, posteriorly emarginated; median part with evident setal marks, laterally with two sub-triangular setae-free spots.

Legs: leg 15 18.4 mm long, ca. 56% of body length; pectinal (seriate) setae missing on tarsus1 and 2 of leg 15, present in one short row on tarsus 2 of leg 14, in one row on tarsus 1 and two rows on tarsus 2 of legs 1-13 (Fig. 8I, ss). Prefemur of leg 15 with a large proximal knob (Fig. 8J, pk) protruding mediad and possibly bearing a cluster of setae on tip (all setae broken but indicated by marks on prefemur), in dorsal view the knob is less broad than the prefemur and not as round as in E. caesar and E. leostygis . Mesial ridge thin, reaching 2/3rd the length of the prefemur, gently narrowing distad. Posterior edge of prefemur with a circular protuberance between p and m dorso-laterally (Fig. 8K, cp); rest of prefemur with obvious marks of setae.

Coxal pores: generally round, arranged in 6-7 irregular rows, pores of inner rows largest, size decreasing outwards; pores separated from each other by a distance more than, or equal to their diameter (Fig. 8L).

Sternites: smooth, subtrapeziform, with few sparse setae, mainly at lateral margins; posterior margins straight.

Genitalia: posterior margin of male first genital sternite concave, broadly V-shaped, posterior margin densely covered with long setae, the rest of sternite sparsely covered with shorter setae (Fig. 8L). Gonopod small, not depicted.

Remarks.

E. spiniger has not been collected since Latzel’s original description. The type material consists of two syntypes - an adult male and a juvenile - collected in Foča (a town within Republika Srpska, coordinates: 43°30'N, 18°47'E) at approximately 1000 m altitude ( Latzel 1888). Stoev et al. (2010) regarded E. (Schizopolybothrus) spiniger as a species of uncertain taxonomic status, presuming it to be a possible senior synonym of E. caesar (Verhoeff, 1899), and emphasizing the importance of the examination of the type material. Having now the opportunity to examine the types of E. spiniger , we were able to compare it directly with E. caesar and conclude that the species is valid, differing from E. caesar in several morphological traits, notably the distinctive sub-triangular projections on tergite 14 (see Table 2, Fig. 8H).