Strigamia bidens Wood, 1862

Synonym: Scolioplanes ruber Bollman, 1887 .

References for morphology: Meinert 1886 (sub Scolioplanes parviceps); Bollman 1887 (sub Scolioplanes ruber); Brölemann 1896; Chamberlin 1912a; Crabill 1954b.

Taxonomic notes. Described originally as a species of Strigamia, it was subsequently assigned variously to Linotaenia, Scolioplanes or Tomotaenia. The species was recorded repeatedly by many authors. Meinert’s (1886) concept for S. bidens is unclear: a specimen reliably identified by others as S. bidens (as confirmed by Cook (1896) as well as by Meinert’s description), and also (erroneously) considered by Meinert as belonging to Wood’s type material, was tentatively referred by him to S. parviceps Wood; moreover, based on unpublished evidence, Cook (1896) suspected that Meinert intended to introduce S. parviceps as a new species name.

Scolioplanes ruber was described by Bollman (1887) and recorded other times by the same author. It was synonymized under S. bidens by Chamberlin (1912a), but Attems (1929) listed it as a distinct species. The synonymy is confirmed here, because the original description of S. ruber is fully congruent with S. bidens, also in some major diagnostic features of the latter species, including number of legs, ultimate leg-bearing segment with narrow metasternite, and scattered coxal pores.

Distribution: south-eastern part of North America, northwards to Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania, southwards to Louisiana, Mississippi and Georgia, westwards to Missouri.