Rhysida longipes longipes ( Newport, 1845 )

Simaiakis, Stylianos Michail & Edgecombe, Gregory D., 2013, Scolopendromorph centipedes (Chilopoda: Scolopendromorpha) in the Natural History Museum (London): A review of the hitherto unidentified species collected in Africa, with remarks on taxonomy and distribution, and a new species of Otostigmus (Parotostigmus), Zootaxa 3734 (2), pp. 169-198 : 181-182

13. Rhysida longipes longipes ( Newport, 1845)

Branchiostoma affine Kohlrausch, 1878 (for further synonyms see Minelli et al. 2006).

Rhysida yanagiharai Takakuwa, 1935 . Chao and Chang 2008: 10–11.

Material examined. Ghana: Gold Coast, West Africa , leg. S.J. Woodward, 4 exx., BMNH 1934.5.17.7-11 ; Saint Helena Isl.: March 1937, 1.800 ft, leg. P. Gosse, 1 ex., BMNH 1937.4.23.58-67. ( Fig. 22 ) .

Type locality. Not stated ( Minelli et al. 2006) .

General distribution. East Tropical Africa: Tanzania ( TZ); Middle Atlantic Ocean: Saint Helena Isl. (SH) (new region record); Northeast Tropical Africa: Somalia (SO); West Tropical Africa: Ghana (GH) (new region record); Western Indian Ocean: Chagos Archipelago ( IO) ( Lewis and Cole 2007: 82); Madagascar ( MG); Mauritius ( MU); Asia Tropical: India ( IN), Taiwan ( TW); Southern America: St.Kitts-Nevis ( KN); Virgin Is. ( VI) ( Lewis 2002; Minelli et al. 2006).

Remarks. Assignment of specimens from Ghana and Saint Helena to this widespread tropical subspecies follows the key of Attems (1930) and descriptions by Lewis (2002) and Chao (2008). The sample from Ghana includes three immature specimens (length 26–31 mm) and comparative remarks are limited to the largest specimen (52 mm). It has the following typical characters of the species: 18 antennal articles, three of which are glabrous dorsally; 4+4 coxosternal teeth with the inner and outer pairs grouped; two lateral teeth and an apical tooth on the trochanteroprefemoral process; paramedian sutures complete from T4; tergites marginate from 8; paramedian sutures confined to the anterior part of the sternites; a coxopleural process of the same shape as in Lewis (2002: fig. 13), with three apical/subapical spines and a lateral spine; prefemoral spines arranged as DM 3 (including a corner spine), M2, VM 3/2+2, VL 3; two tarsal spurs on legs 1–10 or 11, one tarsal spur on legs 11- or 12–19; one tibial spur on legs 1–4 or 1–6. A unique feature is the presence of a small dorsal spine on one side of the coxopleural process. The specimen from Saint Helena has two tarsal spurs on legs 1–7 and one on legs on 8–19, and has the prefemoral spine formula DM 3 (including corner spine), VM 3, VL 3.

Figures

FIGURE 22. Rhysida afra, R. longicornis, R. longipes longipes, R. paucidens, R. stuhlmanni stuhlmanni and R. togoensis, distribution records of specimens from Africa housed in the NHM collection.