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 species 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]

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.
  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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