Congobius Dobroruka, 1968

Lewis, John G. E., Minelli, Alessandro & Shelley, Rowland M., 2006, Taxonomic and nomenclatural notes on scolopendrid centipedes (Chilopoda: Scolopendromorpha: Scolopendridae), Zootaxa 1155 (1), pp. 35-40 : 38

Congobius Dobroruka, 1968

Attems (1930) cited the presence of an accessory claw (spur) on the apical claw and a spine (spur) on the second article of the second maxillary telopodite as characteristics of the genus Otostigmus Porat, 1876. Dobroruka (1968) erected the genus Congobius for two anatomically similar new species — C. schoutedeni, the type species, and C. kivuensis — differentiating them from Otostigmus (Parotostigmus) solely on the absence of these structures. Schileyko (1995) observed that in Otostigmus (O.) reservatus Schileyko, 1995, the spine (spur) on the second article of the second maxillary telopodite was absent, whereas in related species it is sometimes nearly transparent and invisible. Lewis (2001) noted that no published data appeared to exist on the presence or absence of these second maxillary structures in Otostigmus (Parotostigmus), and because of the close similarity of C. schoutedeni to O. (P.) gymnopus Silvestri, 1898, he transferred the former to Otostigmus (Parotostigmus). By implication Congobius therefore became a junior synonym of Otostigmus (Parotostigmus), and we here formalize this synonymy. The second species of Congobius, known only from one female, thus becomes O. (P.) kivuensis ( Dobroruka, 1968) comb. nov.