Mecistocephalus nannocornis is a species of soil centipede in the Mecistocephalidae family.[1] This centipede has only 45 pairs of legs,[2][3] the minimum number recorded in the genus Mecistocephalus.[4] This centipede was the second species in this genus to be discovered with such a modest number of legs.[5]
| Mecistocephalus nannocornis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Myriapoda |
| Class: | Chilopoda |
| Order: | Geophilomorpha |
| Family: | Mecistocephalidae |
| Genus: | Mecistocephalus |
| Species: | M. nannocornis
|
| Binomial name | |
| Mecistocephalus nannocornis Chamberlin, 1920
| |
Discovery and taxonomy
editThis species was first described in 1920 by the American biologist Ralph V. Chamberlin.[2] He based the original description of this species on a female holotype found by the American biologist Charles F. Baker on Mount Makiling on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. This holotype is deposited in the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University.[5]
In 1961, the Japanese myriapodologist Keizaburo Shinohara described M. manazurensis as a new species in the same genus.[6] Shinohara based this description on specimens collected from the town of Manazuru in the Kanagawa prefecture on the island of Honshu in Japan.[6][5] In 2007, the Italian biologists Marco Uliana, Lucio Bonato, and Alessandro Minelli deemed M. manazurensis to be a junior synonym of M. nannocornis.[5] Some authorities consider these centipedes to be the same species,[7] but other authorities continue to list both as valid species,[8][9] although some also acknowledge that these centipedes are probably the same species.[10]
Distribution
editThis centipede is found not only in the Philippines but also in Taiwan and Singapore,[1] where this species has been recorded in the Bukit Timah area.[11] Including M. manazurensis as a junior synonym, M. nannocornis is also found on the island of Honshu in Japan.[5]
Phylogeny
editA phylogenetic analysis of the family Mecistocephalidae based on morphology places M. nannocornis in a clade with M. spissus,[12] which was the first species in the genus Mecistocephalus to be discovered with only 45 leg pairs.[5] This analysis also places this clade on the most basal branch of a phylogenetic tree of this genus, with a sister group formed by all the other species in this genus together in a separate clade. This analysis suggests that the common ancestor of the centipedes in this genus had 45 leg pairs and that the species in this sister group evolved through a process that added segments and increased the number of legs.[12]
Description
editThis species is orange with dark patches in at least some specimens. This centipede has 45 leg pairs and can reach 27 mm in length.[5] The head is notably short relative to its width,[2] with a length/width ratio of only 1.5.[5] The antennae are also short,[2] about 2.5 times longer than the head is wide.[5] Each of the second maxillae end in a claw. The sternum of the last leg-bearing segment is shaped like a trapezoid that is slightly wider than long, with a width/length ratio of 1.1.[5] The basal element of each ultimate leg features numerous pores of moderate size.[2][13]
Although both this species and its close relative M. spissus have only 45 leg pairs, there are also clear differences.[5] For example, M. spissus features a greater number of teeth on the four articles of the forcipules, with two on the first article, one on the second, one on the third, and two (one ventral and one dorsal) on the fourth.[14][13] The species M. nannocornis has only one distal tooth on the first article, a tubercle on the second, one tooth on the third, and no distinct tooth on the fourth.[5] Furthermore, M. spissus has a more elongated head, with a length/width ratio of 1.7 to 1.8,[14] whereas M. nannocornis has a head with a length/width ratio of only 1.5.[5]
References
edit- ^ 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). "Mecistocephalus nannocornis Chamberlin, 1920". ChiloBase 2.0 - A World Catalogue of Centipedes (Chilopoda). Retrieved 2024-06-08.
- ^ a b c d e Chamberlin, Ralph V. (1920). "On Chilopods of the Family Mecistocephalidae". The Canadian Entomologist. 52 (8): 184–189 [187]. doi:10.4039/Ent52184-8. ISSN 1918-3240.
- ^ Attems, Carl (1929). Attems, Karl (ed.). Lfg. 52 Myriapoda, 1: Geophilomorpha (in German). De Gruyter. p. 130. doi:10.1515/9783111430638. ISBN 978-3-11-143063-8.
- ^ Bonato, Lucio; DáNyi, LáSzló; Minelli, Alessandro (2010). "Morphology and phylogeny of Dicellophilus, a centipede genus with a highly disjunct distribution (Chilopoda: Mecistocephalidae)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 158 (3): 501–532 [515]. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2009.00557.x.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Uliana, Marco; Bonato, Lucio; Minelli, Alessandro (2007-01-22). "The Mecistocephalidae of the Japanese and Taiwanese islands (Chilopoda: Geophilomorpha)". Zootaxa. 1396 (1): 1–84 [30-32]. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1396.1.1. ISSN 1175-5334.
- ^ a b Shinohara, Keizaburo (1961). "Taxonomical and morphological studies of Myriapoda VII. Two new species of Mecistocephalidae (Chilopoda)". Zoological Magazine, Tokyo (in Japanese with English summary). 70: 212–216.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ "ITIS - Report: Mecistocephalus manazurensis". www.itis.gov. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
- ^ 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). "Mecistocephalus manazurensis Shinohara, 1961". ChiloBase 2.0 - A World Catalogue of Centipedes (Chilopoda). Retrieved 2024-06-08.
- ^ "Mecistocephalus manazurensis Shinohara, 1961 | COL". www.catalogueoflife.org. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
- ^ "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Mecistocephalus manazurensis Shinohara, 1961". www.marinespecies.org. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
- ^ Decker, Peter (2013). Annotated Checklist of the Millipedes (Diplopoda) and Centipedes (Chilopoda) of Singapore (PDF). Singapore: Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore. p. 20. ISBN 978-981-07-6327-5.
- ^ a b Bonato, Lucio; Foddai, Donatella; Minelli, Alessandro (2003). "Evolutionary trends and patterns in centipede segment number based on a cladistic analysis of Mecistocephalidae (Chilopoda: Geophilomorpha)". Systematic Entomology. 28 (4): 539–579. doi:10.1046/j.1365-3113.2003.00217.x. ISSN 0307-6970.
- ^ a b Bonato, Lucio; Edgecombe, Gregory; Lewis, John; Minelli, Alessandro; Pereira, Luis; Shelley, Rowland; Zapparoli, Marzio (2010-11-18). "A common terminology for the external anatomy of centipedes (Chilopoda)". ZooKeys (69): 17–51. Bibcode:2010ZooK...69...17B. doi:10.3897/zookeys.69.737. ISSN 1313-2970. PMC 3088443. PMID 21594038.
- ^ a b Bonato, Lucio; Foddai, Donatella; Minelli, Alessandro (2004). "The Centipede Order Geophilomorpha in the Hawaiian Islands (Chilopoda)" (PDF). Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 78: 13–32 [15].