Dicellophilus anomalus

Last updated

Dicellophilus anomalus
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Myriapoda
Class: Chilopoda
Order: Geophilomorpha
Family: Mecistocephalidae
Genus: Dicellophilus
Species:
D. anomalus
Binomial name
Dicellophilus anomalus
(Chamberlin, 1904)
Synonyms
  • Mecistocephalus anomalusChamberlin, 1904

Dicellophilus anomalus is a species of soil centipede in the family Mecistocephalidae. [1] [2] This centipede is found on the west coast of the United States. [3] This species features 41 pairs of legs without intraspecific variation and can reach 60 mm in length. [3] [4] This centipede is notable as one of only four species in the family Mecistocephiladae found in North America. [5]

Contents

Discovery and taxonomy

This species was first described in 1904 by the American biologist Ralph V. Chamberlin. [6] He based the original description of this species on a single male specimen found in Pacific Grove, California. [6] Chamberlin originally described this centipede under the name Mecistocephalus anomalus. [6] In 1919, the Italian zoologist Filippo Silvestri placed this species in the genus Dicellophilus instead. [4] Since then, authorities have assigned this species to the genus Dicellophilus. [3]

Phylogeny

In 2010, a phylogenetic analysis of the genus Dicellophilus based on morphology confirmed the monophyly of the genus and placed D.anomalus in a clade with another species in the same genus, D. limatus. The species D.limatus is found in California. This analysis found that these two North American species form a sister group for the species D. pulcher , which emerged as the next closest relative in a phylogenetic tree of this genus. The species D. pulcher is found in Japan. [3]

Description

The species D.anomalus features 41 leg pairs in each sex and can reach 60 mm in length. [3] [4] The body ranges from yellow to orange-brown, with a reddish brown head. [6] [4] [3] This species exhibits several distinctive traits shared by all the other members of the genus Dicellophilus. For example, as in all species in this genus, each of the posterior lateral sclerites of the labrum features longitudinal folds and a concave posterior margin fringed with bristles. Furthermore, as in all of these species, each of the ultimate legs features not only a ventral pore that is distinctly larger than all the other pores but also a tubercle at the distal end with a few small spines. [3] [7] [8] [9]

The species D.anomalus shares a more extensive set of distinctive traits with its close relatives, D.limatus and D. pulcher. For example, in all three of these species, the terminal article of each of the antennae is elongate, with a length/width ratio ranging from 2.2 to 2.4. Furthermore, in all three species, the distal parts of the coxal projections from the first maxillae are evidently enlarged and subtriangular. [3]

The species D.anomalus shares an especially extensive set of distinctive traits with its closest relative, D.limatus. For example, both D. anomalus and D. limatus feature antennae with elongate setae reaching 300 microns in length, whereas these setae range from 150 to 200 microns in length in D. pulcher. Furthermore, the transverse frontal line on the dorsal surface of the head forms an obvious angle pointing forward in the middle in both D. anomalus and D. limatus but is uniformly rounded in D. pulcher. Moreover, both D. anomalus and D. limatus feature a distinctly isolated pair of setae in the middle of the posterior part of the clypeus, but these setae are absent in D. pulcher. [3]

The species D. limatus can be distinguished from its close relative D. anomalus, however, based on other traits. For example, the species D. limatus features 45 leg pairs, whereas D. anomalus features only 41 leg pairs. Furthermore, the telopodites of the first maxillae are elongate in D. anomalus, more than four times as long as their maximum width, whereas this length/width ratio falls within the range of 3.0 to 3.8 in D. limatus. Moreover, the posterior margin of the sternum of the last leg-bearing segment is a regular convex curve in D. limatus, whereas a short process shaped like a pillow projects from the posterior end of this sternum in D. anomalus. [10]

Distribution

The species D. anomalus has a distribution limited to a region from Oregon, between the Oregon Coast Range and the Cascade Range, to central California, west of the Sierra Nevada. In particular, this species has been recorded in Lebanon in Oregon as well as in Oroville and around Monterey Bay in California. [3]

References

  1. ↑ 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). "Dicellophilus anomalus (Chamberlin,1904)". ChiloBase 2.0 - A World Catalogue of Centipedes (Chilopoda). Retrieved 2025-08-25.
  2. ↑ "Dicellophilus anomalus Chamberlin, 1904". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 2025-08-25.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 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. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2009.00557.x.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Silvestri, Filippo (1919). "Contributions to a knowledge of the Chilopoda Geophilomorpha of India". Records of the Indian Museum (in English and Latin). 16: 45–107. doi:10.5962/bhl.part.25916. ISSN   0375-099X – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  5. ↑ Foddai, Donatella; Bonato, Lucio; Pereira, Luis Alberto; Minelli, Alessandro (2003). "Phylogeny and systematics of the Arrupinae (Chilopoda Geophilomorpha Mecistocephalidae) with the description of a new dwarfed species" . Journal of Natural History. 37 (10): 1247–1267. Bibcode:2003JNatH..37.1247F. doi:10.1080/00222930210121672. ISSN   0022-2933.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Chamberlin, Ralph V. (1904). "New chilopods". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 56: 651–657 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  7. ↑ 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.
  8. ↑ Tsukamoto, Sho; Eguchi, Katsuyuki (2024-06-19). "Integrative taxonomy of Dicellophilus Cook, 1896 (Chilopoda, Geophilomorpha, Mecistocephalidae) in Japan, with a description of a new species". Zoosystematics and Evolution. 100 (3): 821–840. doi: 10.3897/zse.100.121512 . ISSN   1860-0743.
  9. ↑ 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.
  10. ↑ 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. Bibcode:2003SysEn..28..539B. doi:10.1046/j.1365-3113.2003.00217.x. ISSN   0307-6970.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.