Species diversity of Strigamia Gray, 1843 (Chilopoda: Linotaeniidae): a preliminary synthesis
Author
Bonato, Lucio
Author
Dányi, László
Author
Socci, Antonio Augusto
Author
Minelli, Alessandro
text
Zootaxa
2012
3593
1
39
journal article
10.5281/zenodo.214898
cd374ebf-49cd-4e50-b6d2-e6b592fdb07a
1175-5326
214898
Strigamia pusilla
(
Seliwanoff, 1884
)
Synonyms:
Scolioplanes perkeo
Verhoeff, 1935
;
Scolioplanes pseudopusillus
Loksa, 1962
.
References for morphology:
Seliwanoff 1884
;
Verhoeff 1935
(sub
Scolioplanes perkeo
);
Loksa 1962
(sub
Scolioplanes pseudopusillus
);
Kaczmarek 1981
(sub
Strigamia perkeo
);
Zalesskaja
et al.
1982
;
Dányi 2006
.
Taxonomic notes. It was described originally as a species of
Scolioplanes
by
Seliwanoff (1884)
, but the name was introduced previously by
Seliwanoff (1881)
as a “nomen nudum” because it was not accompanied by a description. Other specimens were identified later. It was first assigned to
Strigamia
by
Dobroruka (1960)
and its validity was never questioned.
Scolioplanes perkeo
was described by
Verhoeff (1935)
. After examination of representative specimens,
Dobroruka (1955)
did not find any morphological difference with respect to
S. pusilla
and therefore synonymized it under the latter, acknowledging that it could be maintained at most as a subspecies. Indeed, it was repeatedly cited as a distinct subspecies
S. pusilla perkeo
by most subsequent authors (e.g.,
Kaczmarek 1981
). However, as already done by
Pereira (2009)
, we confirm here
S. perkeo
as a synonym of
S. pusillus
because no evidence exists for differences in morphology. Moreover, the male
holotype
of
S. perkeo
and the two
syntypes
of
S. pusillus
were described as differing only in the number of legs (33 pairs in the male
S. perkeo
,
35 in
the male
S. pusillus
and
37 in
the female
S. pusillus
) and the number of coxal pores (lower in
S. perkeo
, which is however also smaller than the
syntypes
of
S. pusillus
). Both putative differences are very slight and within the expected interindividual variation. It is worth noting that
Verhoeff (1935)
introduced
S. perkeo
without mentioning its distinction with respect to
S. pusilla
.
Scolioplanes pseudopusillus
was described by
Loksa (1962)
, and no other specimens have been recorded since. The species was cited rarely and eventually synonymized under
S. pusillus
by
Zalesskaja
et al.
(1982)
. We agree with the synonymy because
Loksa (1962)
acknowledged explicitly that
S. pseudopusillus
could be distinguished from
S. pusillus
only for the relatively higher number of ventral pores, however the number of the latter is well known to increase with individual growth in
Strigamia
(
Horneland & Meidell 2009
)
and is variable between specimens.
Distribution: from Sudetes, Carpathians and Caucasus, to central Siberia and
Mongolia
.