Mecistocephalus gigas

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Mecistocephalus gigas
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Myriapoda
Class: Chilopoda
Order: Geophilomorpha
Family: Mecistocephalidae
Genus: Mecistocephalus
Species:
M. gigas
Binomial name
Mecistocephalus gigas
Haase, 1887 [1]

Mecistocephalus gigas is a species of soil centipede in the Mecistocephalidae family. [2] This genus was described in 1887 by German entomologist Erich Haase. [3] [2] This centipede features 51 pairs of legs rather than the 49 leg pairs usually observed in the genus Mecistocephalus . [3] [4]

Contents

Description

This species has 51 pairs of legs and can reach 105 mm in length. The head is a dark brown-red, but the trunk is yellow with finely distributed grains of dark pigment. [5] The posterior segments are black-green with small grains of pigment, which are quite conspicuous on the ultimate legs. [6] The number of pectinate lamellae (comb blades) on the mandibles ranges from 21 to 27, with four or five teeth on the first. [5] [7] The first pair of legs is a third shorter than the next pair. [5]

Distribution

The species occurs in New Guinea and the Maluku Islands. [2]

Related Research Articles

Erich Haase was a German physician and entomologist. He was Director of the Royal Siamese Museum in Bangkok. He died of dysentery.

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<i>Cryptops megalopora</i> Species of centipede

Cryptops megalopora is a species of centipede in the Cryptopidae family. It is native to Australia and New Zealand and was first described in 1887 by German entomologist Erich Haase.

Rhysida carinulata is a species of centipede in the Scolopendridae family. It is found in Australia and New Guinea, and was first described in 1887 by German entomologist Erich Haase.

<i>Scolopendra laeta</i> Species of centipede

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Geomerinus is a monotypic genus of centipedes in the family Geophilidae. It was described by French myriapodologist Henry Wilfred Brolemann in 1912. Its sole species is Geomerinus curtipes, originally described as Geophilus curtipes by Erich Haase in 1887. It is endemic to Australia.

Sepedonophilus perforatus is a species of centipede in the Geophilidae family. It is endemic to Australia, and was first described in 1887 by German entomologist Erich Haase.

Australiophilus is a genus of two species of centipedes, in the family Zelanophilidae. This genus was described by German myriapodologist Karl Wilhelm Verhoeff in 1925. Centipedes in this genus are found in Australia and New Zealand.

Mecistocephalus is the largest genus of centipedes in the family Mecistocephalidae, with about 140 species. This genus is among the most diverse and widespread of all the genera in the order Geophilomorpha. The British entomologist George Newport first proposed this genus in 1843 to contain a group of centipedes marked by an unusual elongation of the head.

Mecistocephalus gracilis is a species of centipede in the Mecistocephalidae family. It is endemic to Australia, and was first described in 1925 by German myriapodologist Karl Wilhelm Verhoeff.

Australiophilus ferrugineus is a species of centipede in the Zelanophilidae family. It is endemic to New Zealand. It was first described in 1877 by New Zealand biologist Frederick Hutton. Since then, authorities have recognized two junior synonyms, deeming Geophilus huttoni a synonym in 1936 and Geophilus polyporus a synonym in 2014.

Paralamyctes insularis is a species of centipede in the Henicopidae family. It is endemic to New Zealand. It was first described in 1887 by German entomologist Erich Haase.

Mecistocephalus lifuensis is a species of soil centipede in the Mecistocephalidae family. This species was first described in 1898 by zoologist Reginald Innes Pocock based on type material found on is Lifou Island in New Caledonia, a French overseas territory in Melanesia. This centipede is notable for featuring 51 pairs of legs rather than the 49 leg pairs usually observed in the genus Mecistocephalus.

Mecistocephalus porosus is a species of centipede in the Mecistocephalidae family. It was described in 1887 by German entomologist Erich Haase. Haase described a specimen measuring 41 mm in length and deemed it to be a representative of a subspecies of M. tahitiensis. Some others have considered this centipede to be synonymous with M. tahitiensis.

Mecistocephalus capillatus is a species of centipede in the Mecistocephalidae family. It was described in 1935 by Japanese myriapodologist Yosioki Takakuwa.

Mecistocephalus brevisternalis is a species of centipede in the Mecistocephalidae family. It was described in 1934 by Japanese myriapodologist Yosioki Takakuwa.

Otostigmus multidens is a species of centipede in the Scolopendridae family. It was described in 1887 by German entomologist Erich Haase.

Mecistocephalus glabridorsalis is a species of centipede in the Mecistocephalidae family. It was described in 1900 by Austrian myriapodologist Carl Attems. This species has 49 pairs of legs, can reach 85 mm in length, and is yellow with anterior segments and a head that are reddish brown.

Mecistocephalus angusticeps is species of soil centipede in the family Mecistocephalidae. This centipede is found in Kenya and Seychelles. This species features only 47 pairs of legs rather than the 49 leg pairs usually observed in the genus Mecistocephalus.

References

  1. ↑ Haase, E (1887). "Die Indisch-Australischen Myriopoden. Pt. I. Chilopoden". Abhandlungen und Berichte des Königlichen Zoologischen und. Anthropologisch- Ethnographischen Museums zu Dresden. 5: 1–118 [105].
  2. 1 2 3 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 gigas Haase, 1887". ChiloBase 2.0 - A World Catalogue of Centipedes (Chilopoda). Retrieved 2024-06-08.
  3. 1 2 Haase, Erich (1887). "Die Indisch-Australischen Myriopoden. I. Chilopoden". Abhandlungen und Berichte des Königl. Zoologischen und Anthropologisch-Etnographischen Museums zu Dresden. 1 (5): 1–118 [105] – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  4. ↑ Bonato, L.; Minelli, A. (2004). "The centipede genus Mecistocephalus Newport 1843 in the Indian Peninsula (Chilopoda Geophilomorpha Mecistocephalidae)". Tropical Zoology. 17 (1): 15–63 [56]. doi:10.1080/03946975.2004.10531198. ISSN   0394-6975. S2CID   85304657.
  5. 1 2 3 Attems, Carl (1929). Lfg. 52 Myriapoda, 1: Geophilomorpha (in German). De Gruyter. p. 144. doi:10.1515/9783111430638. ISBN   978-3-11-143063-8.
  6. ↑ Attems, Carl (1915). "Myriopoden von Ceram und WaigeuGesammelt von L. F. De Beaufort I. J. 1909: Mit Tafel I." Bijdragen tot de Dierkunde (in German). 20 (1): 2–14 [5]. doi:10.1163/26660644-02001001. ISSN   0067-8546.
  7. ↑ 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 [566]. doi:10.1046/j.1365-3113.2003.00217.x. ISSN   0307-6970.


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