Chilopoda: Scolopendromorpha: Scolopendridae)
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Research Article ISSN 2336-9744 (online) | ISSN 2337-0173 (print) The journal is available on line at www.biotaxa.org/em On the true identity of Scolopendra aztecorum Verhoeff, 1934 (Chilopoda: Scolopendromorpha: Scolopendridae) CARLOS A. MARTÍNEZ-MUÑOZ1, PETR DOLEJŠ2 & CHRISTIAN KRONMÜLLER3 1Zoologisches Institut und Museum, Cytologie und Evolutionsbiologie, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald, Soldmannstrasse 23, D-17487 Greifswald, Germany. E-mail: [email protected] 2Department of Zoology, National Museum – Natural History Museum, Cirkusová 1740, 193 00 Praha 9, Czech Republic. E-mail: [email protected] 3Bavarian State Collection of Zoology, Münchhausenstrasse 21, D-81247 Munich, Germany. E-mail: [email protected] Received 30 August 2016 │ Accepted 4 October 2016 │ Published online 7 October 2016. Abstract The genus Scolopendra Linnaeus, 1758 currently comprises 13 valid species in Mexico. One of the species, Scolopendra aztecorum Verhoeff, 1934 has been considered a potential synonym of S. viridis Say, 1821, S. polymorpha Wood, 1861, or Arthrorhabdus pygmaeus (Pocock, 1895). To shed light on its true status, five of the six syntype specimens were examined, redescribed and illustrated for the first time. Scolopendra aztecorum is diagnosable from all other Mexican species and remains in the genus Scolopendra as a valid species. Key words: Scolopendra, redescription, Mexico, endemic. Introduction Bücherl (1942) published a comprehensive catalog of the chilopods from the Neotropical region. In his work, he regarded as doubtful the new forms of the viridis group from Mexico described by Verhoeff (1934), with the exceptions of Scolopendra octodentata and “perhaps” S. aztecorum. Bücherl (1942) was the first author to question the validity of Scolopendra aztecorum, noticing its closeness to Scolopendra polymorpha Wood, 1861 (as Scolopendra viridis polymorpha sensu Attems (1930)) and the lack of a comparison in the original treatment by Verhoeff (1934). In consequence, Bücherl (1942) tried to provide a basic comparison between S. aztecorum and S. viridis, specifically with S. v. polymorpha sensu Attems (1930). While doing so, he failed to find the most important character separating these two species: the number of tarsal spurs on the locomotory legs. Bücherl (1942) correctly mentioned S. aztecorum as having two tarsal spurs on legs 1–20 but stated that Attems (1930) did not establish the spur number in S. v. polymorpha. He overlooked that Attems (1930) described Scolopendra viridis Say, 1821 (including S. v. polymorpha) as having two tarsal spurs on leg pair 1 and one tarsal spur on leg pairs 2 to 19 or 20. Bücherl (1974) did not mention S. aztecorum in his second catalog of Neotropical Scolopendromorpha. Shelley (2006) justly considered clarifying Neotropical species of Scolopendra as a daunting challenge. For the benefit of all subsequent workers, he took the initial step of consolidating the species- group names and literature on New World Scolopendra species. This author regarded 13 Mexican species as valid, a figure followed by Cupul-Magaña (2013). However, the Mexican endemic Scolopendra aztecorum Ecol. Mont., 7, 2016, 405-413 ON THE TRUE IDENTITY OF SCOLOPENDRA AZTECORUM Verhoeff, 1934 was considered by Shelley (2006) a potential synonym of S. viridis Say, 1821, S. polymorpha Wood, 1861, or Arthrorhabdus pygmaeus (Pocock, 1895). To solve this taxonomical problem, five of the six syntypes of Scolopendra aztecorum were located, examined and confirmed as conspecific. The relevant taxonomic literature is consolidated and comments on nomenclatural and curatorial issues are presented. Material and Methods Anatomical terminology follows the recommendations of Lewis et al. (2005) and Bonato et al. (2010). The term “accessory spine/spines” recommended by Bonato et al. (2010) is substituted here by one of its synonyms, “accessory spur/spurs” (Crabill, 1958; Lewis et al., 2005). This increases the consistency of the terminology because the “accessory claws” are “actually spurs ankylosed to base of pretarsus”, as noted by Crabill (1960). The change will allow using without confusion expressions such as “legs 1–20 without spines”. As the terms for the homologous structures on the second maxillae are not listed by Bonato et al. (2010) we use the ones recommended here. Standardized label information is proposed for syntypes, following recommendations of Wheeler et al. (2001) and ICZN (1999). Georeference for La Paz was directly taken from Google Maps. Georeference for Los Inocentes is not accurate in Google Maps but it was step by step centered in the only country house that remains, where old roads meet, and then retrieved. Free map data at 1:110m scale were obtained from Natural Earth (http://www.naturalearthdata.com/) and processed using TileMill v.0.10.1. The specimen deposited in Prague was photographed using an Olympus SZX12 stereomicroscope equipped with an Olympus E-510 camera. Scale bars were added using QuickPhoto Camera 2.3 software. Acronyms of repositories are as follows: BMNH: The Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom. MNHP: Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France. NHMW: Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, Vienna, Austria. MHNG: Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle, Geneva, Switzerland. NHRS: Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, Sweden. NMNHS: National Museum of Natural History, Sofia, Bulgaria. NMP: National Museum – Natural History Museum, Prague, Czech Republic. RMNH: Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, Netherlands. ZMB: Zoologisches Museum der Humboldt-Universität, Berlin, Germany. ZMUC: Danish Museum of Natural History, Copenhagen, Denmark. ZMUH: Zoological Institute and Museum, University of Hamburg, Germany. ZSM: Zoologische Staatssammlung, Munich, Germany. Systematics Order Scolopendromorpha Family Scolopendridae Leach, 1815 Genus Scolopendra Linnaeus, 1758 Scolopendra aztecorum Verhoeff, 1934 (Figs. 1, 2a–h) Scolopendra azteka Verhoeff, in litt. (non Scolopendra azteca Saussure, 1858) (See remarks) Scolopendra aztekorum Verhoeff, 1934: 49. (See remarks) Scolopendra aztecorum Verhoeff, 1934: 49–50. Scolopendra aztecorum Bücherl, 1942: 291, 292, 293. Scolopendra aztekorum Moritz & Fischer, 1979: 329. Scolopendra aztecorum Shelley, 2006: 27, 40. Scolopendra aztecorum Minelli et al., 2006–2015. 406 MARTÍNEZ-MUÑOZ ET AL. Scolopendra aztecorum Cupul-Magaña, 2009: 51. Scolopendra aztecorum Cupul-Magaña, 2013: 35. Scolopendra aztecorum Dolejš in Tuf & Tajovský, 2014: 20. Scolopendra aztecorum Dolejš in Tuf & Tajovský, 2015: 7. Scolopendra aztecorum Bonato et al., 2016. Type material. Verhoeff (1934) described S. aztecorum based on six syntypes. Type locality. Mexico, Baja California Sur, near La Paz and near Los Inocentes (Fig. 1). See remarks. Figure 1. Map showing the type locality of Scolopendra aztecorum syntypes. Mexico, Baja California Sur, 1) La Paz and 2) Los Inocentes. Distribution. Known only from type localities. Endemic to Mexico. Original rank. Species. Current rank and status. Valid species. Material examined for redescription. Five syntypes. NMP P6E-1303, one adult specimen. |Scolopendra aztecorum VERHOEFF, 1937. det. L. J. Dobroruka. La Paz, J. Kalifornie, U.S.A. (pod hnijícími kaktusy). 1 kus (SYNTYPUS). lgt. Prof. Dr. K. Štorkán. 1930. Coll. Nár. muzeum. I. č. 1303. P. č. 45/1975.| ZMB 13378, one juvenile specimen. |Syn-Typus| |Scolopendra azteca Verh. mexican. Kalifornien. 1095| RMNH.CHIL.154, one juvenile specimen. |Cat. Nº 154| |Scolopendra azteca Verh. Mexic. Kaliforn.| ZSM- A-20051044, one juvenile, dissected and in poor condition, all dissected parts are included in the vial, apparently there are no slides by Verhoeff. |Holotype| |Scolopendra aztekorūm Verh. Mexikanisch Californien.| ZSM-A-20051045, one adult in good condition. |Scolopendra aztekorūm Verhoeff mexik. Californien. Coll. Verhoeff.| Diagnosis. With shared characters of S. viridis, S. polymorpha and S. chlora Chamberlin, 1942: 1) cephalic plate without paramedian sutures, 2) transverse sulcus on tergite 1, 3) two paramedian sutures on tergite 1, 4) Ecol. Mont., 7, 2016, 405-413 407 ON THE TRUE IDENTITY OF SCOLOPENDRA AZTECORUM median longitudinal suture on tergite 21 and absence of prefemoral spines on legs 19–20. Readily distinguishable from the other three species by the unique character of two spurs on tarsi 1 of legs 1–19(20) against two spurs only present on tarsi 1 of legs 1. Redescription Color: According to Verhoeff (1934), body and legs pale yellow, antennae, head and T1 dark bluish, sometimes also tergites 2 and 3, forcipular coxosternite and forcipules reddish-brown, tarsungula black. Only one adult with head and T1 more yellowish-brown. At present, former bluish color on the head and T1 is faded. Antennae: 27–33 antennal articles, 15–17 basal sparsely hirsute. The transition between sparsely hirsute and hirsute antennal articles is gradual and difficult to see. This may be due to the setae being very short and pale. Setae not arranged in longitudinal rows. ZSM-A-20051044 with antennae broken, only 15 left and 26 right articles remaining. Bücherl (1942) incorrectly transcribed the count from Verhoeff (1934) as only “27– 32 artículos antenais”. Cephalic plate: Slightly and sparsely punctate. Short anterior sulcus. Without paramedian sutures. Posterior margin almost straight, overlapping anterior margin of T1. Mandibles and maxillary complex: Specimen ZSM-A-20051044 with right mandible, 1st maxillae and 2nd maxillae dissected. Right mandible with five tricuspid teeth, condyle of lamina