Mecistocephalus
Mecistocephalus is a genus of centipedes in the family Mecistocephalidae. It was described by British entomologist George Newport in 1843.[1][2]
Description[edit]
Centipedes in this genus feature a pair of sclerotized teeth projecting from the cephalic pleurites, and each forcipular trochanteroprefemur often bear a pair of denticles. The head, forcipular segment, and their appendages are often elongated. These centipedes range from 2 cm to 10 cm in length and usually have 45 to 51 pairs of legs, but some have more, up to as many as 101 leg pairs.[3] Most species in this genus have 49 pairs of legs (e.g., Mecistocephalus punctifrons and M. pallidus),[4] but other species have 51 pairs (e.g., M. sechellarum and M. lifuensis), 47 pairs (e.g., M. angusticeps and M. tahitiensis), or 45 pairs (e.g., M. nannocornis and M. spissus).[5][6]
| Mecistocephalus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Myriapoda |
| Class: | Chilopoda |
| Order: | Geophilomorpha |
| Family: | Mecistocephalidae |
| Genus: | Mecistocephalus Newport, 1843[1] |
| Type species | |
| Mecistocephalus punctifrons Newport, 1843
| |
Intraspecific variation in the number of leg-bearing segments within each sex has been recorded among the species with the greatest number of legs in this genus: M. diversisternus, which has 57 or 59 leg pairs, M. japonicus, which has 63 or 65 leg pairs, and M. microporus, which has odd numbers of leg pairs ranging from 93 to 101, the maximum number in the family Mecistocephalidae.[7][3]
Distribution[edit]
Centipedes in this genus occur mainly in tropical and subtropical regions of south and east Asia, with some also found in temperate areas and in the Americas.[3]
Species[edit]
There are about 145 valid species,[2] including:
- Mecistocephalus apator Chamberlin, 1920
- Mecistocephalus brevisternalis Takakuwa, 1934
- Mecistocephalus capillatus Takakuwa, 1935
- Mecistocephalus castaneiceps Haase, 1887
- Mecistocephalus ciliatus Takakuwa, 1942
- Mecistocephalus collinus Verhoeff, 1937
- Mecistocephalus consocius Chamberlin, 1944
- Mecistocephalus erythroceps Chamberlin, 1920
- Mecistocephalus furculigera (Verhoeff, 1925)
- Mecistocephalus gigas Haase, 1887
- Mecistocephalus glabridorsalis Attems, 1900
- Mecistocephalus gracilis (Verhoeff, 1925)
- Mecistocephalus hebrides (Chamberlin,1944)
- Mecistocephalus heteropus Humbert, 1865
- Mecistocephalus kabasanus (Chamberlin, 1920)
- Mecistocephalus kurandanus Chamberlin, 1920
- Mecistocephalus labasanus (Chamberlin, 1920)
- Mecistocephalus lifuensis Pocock, 1899
- Mecistocephalus magister Chamberlin, 1939
- Mecistocephalus manokwarius Chamberlin, 1944
- Mecistocephalus marcusensis Miyosi, 1953
- Mecistocephalus mater (Verhoeff, 1925)
- Mecistocephalus modestus (Silvestri,1919)
- Mecistocephalus nagasaunus Chamberlin, 1920
- Mecistocephalus nigriceps Chamberlin, 1920
- Mecistocephalus ocanus Chamberlin, 1946
- Mecistocephalus okabei Takakuwa, 1942
- Mecistocephalus ongi Takakuwa, 1934
- Mecistocephalus porosus Haase, 1887
- Mecistocephalus pseustes (Chamberlin,1939)
- Mecistocephalus punctifrons Newport, 1843
- Mecistocephalus siaronus (Chamberlin, 1920)
- Mecistocephalus simplex Chamberlin, 1920
- Mecistocephalus somonus (Chamberlin, 1920)
- Mecistocephalus spissus Wood, 1862
- Mecistocephalus subgigas (Silvestri,1919)
- Mecistocephalus subinsularis (Silvestri, 1919)
- Mecistocephalus tahitiensis Wood, 1862
- Mecistocephalus tsenapus Chamberlin, 1944
- Mecistocephalus turucanus (Chamberlin, 1920)
- Mecistocephalus uncifer (Silvestri,1919)
- Mecistocephalus waikaneus Chamberlin, 1953
- Mecistocephalus waipaheenas (Chamberlin, 1953)
- Mecistocephalus zygethus Chamberlin, 1939
References[edit]
- ^ a b Newport, G (1843). "On some new genera of the class Myriapoda". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 10 (1842): 177–181 [178].
- ^ a b Bonato L.; Chagas Junior A.; Edgecombe G.D.; Lewis J.G.E.; Minelli A.; Pereira L.A.; Shelley R.M.; Stoev P.; Zapparoli M. (2016). "ChiloBase 2.0". A World Catalogue of Centipedes (Chilopoda). Rosario Dioguardi and Giuseppe Cortese, University of Padua. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ a b c Bonato, Lucio; Edgecombe, Gregory D.; Zapparoli, Marzio (2011). "Chilopoda – Taxonomic overview". In Minelli, Alessandro (ed.). The Myriapoda. Volume 1. Leiden: Brill. pp. 363–443. ISBN 978-90-04-18826-6. OCLC 812207443.
- ^ Bonato, L.; Minelli, A. (2004). "The centipede genus Mecistocephalus Newport 1843 in the Indian Peninsula (Chilopoda Geophilomorpha Mecistocephalidae)". Tropical Zoology. 17 (1): 15–63. doi:10.1080/03946975.2004.10531198. ISSN 0394-6975. S2CID 85304657.
- ^ Bonato, Lucio; Foddai, Donatella; Minelli, Alessandro (2003). "Evolutionary trends and patterns in centipede segment number based on a cladistic analysis of Mecistocephalidae (Chilopoda: Geophilomorpha): Evolution of segment number in Mecistocephalidae". Systematic Entomology. 28 (4): 539–579. doi:10.1046/j.1365-3113.2003.00217.x.
- ^ Bonato, Lucio; Minelli, Alessandro (2010). "The geophilomorph centipedes of the Seychelles (Chilopoda: Geophilomorpha)" (PDF). Phelsuma. 18: 9–38.
- ^ Minelli, Alessandro (2020). "Arthropod Segments and Segmentation – Lessons from Myriapods, and Open Questions" (PDF). Opuscula Zoologica (Budapest). 51(S2): 7–21. doi:10.18348/opzool.2020.S2.7. S2CID 226561862.