An overview of the extant genera and subgenera of the order Scolopendromorpha (Chilopoda): a new identification key and updated diagnoses
Author
Schileyko, Arkady A.
schileyko1965@gmail.com
Author
Vahtera, Varpu
varpu.vahtera@gmail.com
Author
Edgecombe, Gregory D.
0000-0002-9591-8011
schileyko1965@gmail.com
text
Zootaxa
2020
2020-08-10
4825
1
1
64
journal article
8703
10.11646/zootaxa.4825.1.1
5ab5f5c8-481e-4d1a-8643-21e72c367278
1175-5326
4402145
F230F199-1C94-4E2E-9CE4-5F56212C015F
Sterropristes
Attems, 1934
Figs 119–123
Synonyms.
Malaccolabis
Verhoeff, 1937
Type
species.
Sterropristes sarasinorum
Attems, 1934
(by monotypy).
Diagnosis.
As for tribe.
Number of species.
3 (
Muadsub
et al.
2012
).
Remarks.
Treated as a genus in
Edgecombe & Bonato (2011: 403)
,
Muadsub
et al.
(2012: 36)
,
Vahtera
et al.
(2013: 594)
,
Vahtera & Edgecombe (2014: 2
, 7).
Several “diagnostic” features of
Sterropristes
mentioned by
Muadsub
et al.
(2012)
are also shared with other genera of
Otostigminae
, an exception being the “saw-like internal margin of the forcipular tarsungula” which serves as the “unique distinguishing character of
Sterropristes
” (
Muadsub
et al.
2012: 36
).
Vahtera & Edgecombe (2014: 7)
also wrote: “a close relationship between
Sterropristes
and
Edentistoma
cannot be definitely discounted”. In fact, within
Otostigminae
only two these genera (plus
Digitipes
, at least in part; see above) have an unusually small median tooth of the labrum (in
Scolopendrinae
, also shared with species of
Cormocephalus
(
Campylostigmus
)
; see
Edgecombe & Koch 2008
, fig. 10e) and very characteristic short and much enlarged ultimate legs (see above), in both cases having dorsal sulci on proximal podomeres (
Fig. 116
). However they differ sharply from each other by: a. visibly thinned and elongated (in
Edentistoma
;
Fig. 114
) vs. much shortened and enlarged (in
Sterropristes
; Fig. 120) forcipular tarsungula, b. presence (in
Edentistoma
;
Fig. 116
) vs. absence of tergal keels, c. spiracles without (in
Edentistoma
;
Fig. 115
) vs. with a well-developed atrium (Fig. 119). On the other hand, we also note shared characters in the structure of the forcipular segment of
Ethmostigmus
and
Sterropristes
(compare
Figs 102
and 121)—both of them have very similar shape of the tooth-plates and lack a well-developed forcipular trochantero-prefemoral process. However, molecular phylogenetics indicates that “monophyly (non-partitioned analyses) versus paraphyly (partitioned analyses) of
Sterropristes
+
Ethmostigmus
remains ambiguous” (
Siriwut
et al
. 2018: 1043
).
It should be noted that
Bonato
et al.
(2016)
are obviously mistaken for not mentioning
S. metallicus
as the third valid species of
Sterropristes
; its validity was confirmed by the molecular study of
Siriwut
et al
. (2018: 1043)
who wrote: “the mainland and insular species,
S. metallicus
and
S. violaceus
, have been verified as distinct species”.