Mecistocephalus ocanus

Last updated

Mecistocephalus ocanus
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. ocanus
Binomial name
Mecistocephalus ocanus
Chamberlin, 1946 [1]

Mecistocephalus ocanus is a species of centipede in the Mecistocephalidae family. It was described in 1946 by American myriapodologist Ralph Vary Chamberlin. [1] [2]

Contents

Description

The original description of this species is based on a specimen measuring about 15 mm in length with 49 pairs of legs. [1]

Distribution

The species occurs in Micronesia. The type locality is Oka Point, Guam. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ralph Vary Chamberlin</span> American biologist

Ralph Vary Chamberlin was an American biologist, ethnographer, and historian from Salt Lake City, Utah. He was a faculty member of the University of Utah for over 25 years, where he helped establish the School of Medicine and served as its first dean, and later became head of the zoology department. He also taught at Brigham Young University and the University of Pennsylvania, and worked for over a decade at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University, where he described species from around the world.

<i>Lithobius</i> Genus of centipedes

Lithobius is a large genus of centipedes in the family Lithobiidae, commonly called stone centipedes, common centipedes or brown centipedes.

<i>Scolopendra</i> Genus of centipedes

Scolopendra is a species-rich genus of large tropical centipedes of the family Scolopendridae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scutigeridae</span> Family of centipedes

Scutigeridae is a family of centipedes that are known as house centipedes. It includes most of the species of house centipedes, including Scutigera coleoptrata and Allothereua maculata.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Himantariidae</span> Family of centipedes

Himantariidae is a monophyletic family of centipedes in the order Geophilomorpha and superfamily Himantarioidea, found almost exclusively in the Northern Hemisphere. The number of leg-bearing segments in this family varies within as well as among species and ranges from 47 to 181. These centipedes are very elongated with a high mean number of trunk segments and great variability in this number within species. The maximum number of legs recorded in this family appears in the species Chomatobius bakeri. The minimum number of legs recorded in this family appears in the species Garriscaphus oreines, This family contains these genera:

<i>Bothropolys</i> Genus of centipedes

Bothropolys is a genus of centipedes in the family Lithobiidae.

<i>Geophilus</i> Genus of centipedes

Geophilus is a large, heterogeneous genus of soil centipedes in the family Geophilidae largely considered to be synonymous with Brachygeophilus. It is a mostly holarctic genus characterized by a claw-shaped ultimate pretarsus, anterior porefields, complete or nearly complete coxo-pleural sutures at the prosternum, and incomplete chitin-lines. Centipedes in this genus range from 1 cm to 8 cm in length. The generic name first appeared in Brewster's Edinburgh Encyclopaedia in 1814 as Geophilus electricus.

Chileana is a genus of soil centipedes in the clade Linotaeniidae and family Geophilidae found in southern Chile. It currently has only one species, C. araucanensis. Females of this species are about 30mm long, with a pale yellow body and a red head; bearing 12–15 pleural pores; long, tapering antennae with sparse basal sections and rather hairy distal sections; and a labrum with four median tubercles bearing a few cilia on the sides. Males have 10 pleural pores, thick ultimate legs armed with claws, and 43 leg pairs.

<i>Tygarrup</i> Genus of Mecistocephalidae centipedes

Tygarrup is a genus of centipedes in the family Mecistocephalidae, found mainly in southeast Asia and from the Seychelles to Hawaii. Although species in this genus can have either 43 or 45 leg-bearing segments, most of these species have 45 leg pairs. An undescribed Tygarrup species found in the Andaman Islands has 43 leg pairs. Centipedes in this genus range from 2 cm to 6 cm in length. Tygarrup javanicus is one of the smallest of the mecistocephalid species and has become an invasive in greenhouses in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ballophilidae</span>

Ballophilidae is a monophyletic group of centipedes belonging to the order Geophilomorpha and superfamily Himantarioidea. Authorities now dismiss this group as a family, citing phylogenetic analysis, and instead refer to this clade as Ballophilinae, a possible subfamily within the family Schendylidae. The number of legs in this clade varies within species and ranges from 37 to 113 pairs of legs. Two species in this clade can have as few as 37 leg pairs, Ballophilus pallidus and Leucolinum trinidadense, and one species, Ityphilus grandis, can have as many as 113 pairs. Species in this clade tend to have more leg-bearing segments and greater intraspecific variability in this number than generally found in the family Schendylidae.

Geophilus anonyx is a species of soil centipede in the family Geophilidae found in Oregon. It was originally placed in the genus Brachygeophilus based on the lack of sternal pores, a character shared with the type species B. truncorum, however it was later moved to Geophilus.

Pachymerinus australis is a species of centipede in the Geophilidae family. It is endemic to Australia, and was first described in 1920 by American biologist Ralph Vary Chamberlin.

Sepedonophilus hodites is a species of centipede in the Geophilidae family. It is endemic to Australia, and was first described in 1940 by American biologist Ralph Vary Chamberlin.

Pachymerellus zygethus is a species of centipede in the Geophilidae family. It is endemic to Australia, and was first described in 1920 by American biologist Ralph Vary Chamberlin.

Mecistocephalus is a genus of centipedes in the family Mecistocephalidae. It was described by British entomologist George Newport in 1843.

Mecistocephalus simplex is a species of centipede in the Mecistocephalidae family. It is endemic to Australia, and was first described in 1920 by American biologist Ralph Vary Chamberlin.

<i>Lamyctes</i> Genus of centipedes

Lamyctes is a genus of centipedes in the family Henicopidae. It was described by Danish entomologist Frederik Vilhelm August Meinert in 1868.

Australobius scabrior is a species of centipede in the Lithobiidae family. It was first described in 1920 by American biologist Ralph Vary Chamberlin.

Nesomerium is a monotypic genus of centipedes in the family Geophilidae. It was described in 1953 by American myriapodologist Ralph Vary Chamberlin. The sole species is Nesomerium hawaiiense Chamberlin, 1953. Since the original description of this species based on a single specimen, no other specimens have been referred to this species or this genus, and some authorities express doubts about the validity of these taxa and their placement in the family Geophilidae.

Endoptelus is a monotypic genus of centipedes in the family Oryidae. It was described in 1939 by American myriapodologist Ralph Vary Chamberlin. Its sole species is Endoptelus papuicolens Chamberlin, 1939.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Chamberlin, RV (1946). "A new millipede and two new centipedes from Guam". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 59: 161–163 [162].
  2. 1 2 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). "ChiloBase 2.0". A World Catalogue of Centipedes (Chilopoda). Rosario Dioguardi and Giuseppe Cortese, University of Padua. Retrieved 11 April 2023.