Mecistocephalus multidentatus Takakuwa, 1936

Published, First, 2007, The Mecistocephalidae of the Japanese and Taiwanese islands (Chilopoda: Geophilomorpha), Zootaxa 1396, pp. 1-84 : 47-48

Mecistocephalus multidentatus Takakuwa, 1936

Figs. 54–55

[1] Mecistocephalus multidentatus: Takakuwa 1936c — Trans. Nat. Hist. Soc. Formosa 26: 322 (original description); fig. 1–2

Mecistocephalus (Mecistocephalus) multidentatus: Takakuwa 1936b — Trans. Nat. Hist. Soc. Formosa 26: 433 (key)

[2] Mecistocephalus (Mecistocephalus) multidentatus: Takakuwa 1938a — Annot. Zool. Japon. 17: 354

Mecistocephalus multidentatus: Verhoeff 1939 — Zool. Jahrb. Syst. 72: 86

Mecistocephalus (Mecistocephalus) multidentatus: Takakuwa 1940 — Fauna Nippon. 9: 64 (redescription, key); fig. 58

[3] Mecistocephalus multidentatus: Takakuwa 1942a — Acta Arachn. 7: 39, 42

Mecistocephalus multidentatus: Takakuwa 1943 — Bull. Biogeogr. Soc. Japan 13: 170

Mecistocephalus multidentatus: Attems 1947 — Ann. Naturhistor. Mus. Wien 55: 100 (key)

Mecistocephalus multidentatus: Wang & Mauriès 1996 — Mém. Mus. natn. Hist. Nat. Paris 169: 89

Mecistocephalus multidentatus: Bonato et al. 2003 — Syst. Entom. 28: 550, 551

Diagnosis. A Mecistocephalus species with 49 leg­bearing segments. Body length reaching at least 4.5 cm. Trunk without dark patches. Head about 2 times as long as wide. Areolate part of the clypeus with 7 smooth insulae on each side, each insula with a seta; each plagula with spine­like sensilla. Clypeal ratio about 0.8. Anterior ala of the labrum subtrapezoidal, with the medial margin not reduced to a vertex. Buccae with setae on the posterior half only. Sternal sulcus furcate. Intermediate lamellae of mandibles with more than 30 teeth.

Type material. Number of specimens, sex and age not stated ( Takakuwa, 1936c); possibly only one specimen (holotype).

Type locality. ‘ Taihoku’ [= Taipei], Taiwan ( Takakuwa, 1936c) .

Depository of type material. The type material is probably lost (see Discussion).

Material examined. None.

Description. Body size reaching at least 4.5 cm. Body colour yellowish, without dark patches; head and forcipular segment darker. Head 2.0 times as long as wide. Clypeus: clypeal ratio about 0.8; areolate part with 7 smooth insulae on each side, each insula with one seta; each plagula with 3 spine­like sensilla aligned along the distal margin. Labrum: anterior ala with medial margin not reduced to a vertex; posterior margin of each side­piece smooth, medial end projecting into a small tooth. Spiculum present; buccae with more than 10 setae on the posterior half only. Mandible: about 9 well­developed lamellae; first lamella with 10 teeth; average intermediate lamella with 30–40 teeth, basal teeth evidently smaller than distal teeth; basal tooth of the mandible saw­edged, shorter than the first lamella. First maxillae: anterior corners of coxosternum projecting. A total of 49 leg­bearing segments. Sternal sulcus furcate, with a right angle between branches.

Distribution in the considered area.

Taiwan: ‘ Taihoku’ [= Taipei] [1] (type locality); Peng­hu Ids [3] (transcribed from Japanese) .

To be confirmed:

Ryukyu Islands: ‘Ryukyu’ [2].

General distribution. Taiwan and possibly Ryukyu Islands (see also Remarks).

Remarks. The small setae­bearing insulae on the clypeal plagulae described and figured by Takakuwa (1936c) (see also Fig. 54) in M. multidentatus are confidently recognizable as the spine­like sensilla observed in other species of Mecistocephalus ( M. rubriceps , M. marmoratus , M. karasawai , M. changi ). In the other species their presence is inconstant for number and distribution, and it is possibly the same with M. multidentatus .

Specimens of M. marmoratus were indeed misidentified as M. multidentatus by Takakuwa (1936b), as clearly recognisable from his illustrations; this error was later corrected by the same author ( Takakuwa, 1940). The record for Ryukyu published in 1938 ( Takakuwa, 1938a) is consequently regarded as doubtful.