Lithobius (Lithobius) iranicus Attems, 1951

Akkari, Nesrine, Macek, Oliver & Edgecombe, Gregory D., 2024, Revision of some historical types of the genus Lithobius Leach, 1814 (Chilopoda, Lithobiomorpha) from the 1949 / 50 Austrian Iran Expedition, with new molecular data for L. iranicus Attems, 1951, Zootaxa 5424 (4), pp. 401-422 : 404-412

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.5424.4.1
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:3BDADC13-421B-4F90-BFFE-E0C0158DCF9E
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10821489
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03DEC47E-482C-0A73-8F8D-FF2CB560FEC7
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Lithobius (Lithobius) iranicus Attems, 1951
status

Treatment

Lithobius (Lithobius) iranicus Attems, 1951 View in CoL

Figs 1–5 View FIGURE 1 View FIGURE 2 View FIGURE 3 View FIGURE 4 View FIGURE 5 , 6A–H, J View FIGURE 6 , 7 View FIGURE 7 , 8A–C View FIGURE 8 , 9–10 View FIGURE 9 View FIGURE 10

Lithobius (Alokobius) iranicus Attems, 1951: 403 View in CoL , fig. 15.

Lithobius rhiknus Attems, 1951: 403 View in CoL , fig. 16. Syn. nov.

Lithobius inaequidens Attems, 1951: 404 View in CoL , fig. 17. Syn. nov.

Diagnosis. Lithobius (Lithobius) with 44–52 antennal articles. Ocelli 1+12–1+23, in four rows; Tömösváry’s organ about as large as adjacent ocelli. Forcipular coxosternal margin most commonly with 4+4 teeth alternating in size from small to large distally, varying from 3+4 or 4+3 to 4+5 or 5+6, innermost tooth the most posterior; spiniform porodont distal to outermost tooth (4+4) or between outer pair of teeth (>4 teeth). Angulation or short projection on T9, well developed projections on TT11 and 13. Coxal pores usually ovate, slit-shaped in some large males. Female gonopod with 3+3 spurs, inner spur small; claw bipartite. Males with pair of dorsal sulci on femur and tibia of legs 14 and 15, on femur and variably tibia of leg 13. Legs 13–15 consistently with DaF and DpF; 13DaT, 13DpT, 14VaC, 15VaC consistently present.

Material examined.

Lectotype: IRAN ● ♀ NHMW MY3963 View Materials ; lectotype here designated; “Lahidschan, Buchenwald Löffler F106”.

Paralectotypes: ● 2 ♂♂ NHMW MY10383 View Materials , 10384 View Materials ; Lahidschan, same collection as lectotype ● 1 ♂ NHMW MY3964 View Materials ; “Löffler H.57” .

Non-type material: Lithobius iranicus : IRAN ● 1 ♀ NHMW MY5700 View Materials ● 1 ♂ NHMW MY5701 View Materials ; “F101” [Lahidschan] ● 1 ♂ NHMW MY10387 View Materials ; close to a road between Razekeh and Peren; 36°17'42.86"N, 52°21'47.26"E, 424 m; 15.12.2017; H. Ghanavi leg. GoogleMaps

Other material:

Lithobius inaequidens Attems, 1951 . IRAN ● 1 ♂ syntype NHMW MY3962 View Materials ; “F111”, “Tscheran Ham” ● 1 ♂ syntype NHMW MY10385 View Materials ; “ Teheran Hain I.50”

Lithobius rhiknus Attems, 1951 . IRAN ● 1 ♀ syntype NHMW MY3942 View Materials ; “ Mazandaran, H82 Löffler”; ● 1 ♂ syntype NHMW MY4044 View Materials ; “ Mazandaran, H87”.

Description based on female lectotype.

Size. Length (anterior margin of cephalic plate to posterior margin of telson) 21 mm ( Fig. 1A View FIGURE 1 ).

Colour (in ethanol). Cephalic plate orange-yellow; anterior tergites yellow, darker orange-yellow from posterior half of trunk; antennae and legs yellow ( Fig. 1A, B View FIGURE 1 ).

Cephalic plate. Width slightly greater than length. Lateral marginal interruption distinct. Posterior border faintly convex backwards ( Fig. 1B View FIGURE 1 ).

Antennae. 50/48 articles, extending back to anterior part of T7 ( Fig. 1A View FIGURE 1 ). Ultimate article twice as long as penultimate.

Ocelli. 1+16 and 1+13 ocelli (left and right side of cephalic plate, respectively), in four rows (4, 4, 3, 4). Posterior ocellus ovoid, its long axis nearly twice the diameter of largest seriate ocellus.

Tömösváry’s organ. Slightly separated at anteroventral edge of ocellar field, about as large as adjacent ocelli ( Fig. 1D View FIGURE 1 ).

Forcipular coxosternite. 4+4 teeth; inner tooth the smallest, positioned posterior to the others; second and fourth (outer) teeth equal sized, third tooth distinctly smaller ( Figs 1C View FIGURE 1 , 2A View FIGURE 2 ). Median diastema shallow, curved. Porodont at a small, blunt shoulder; porodont spiniform, tapering to a point, translucent ( Fig. 2 C View FIGURE 2 ). Anterior part of coxosternite bearing numerous long setae.

Tergites. T1 95% width of cephalic plate and T3. T9 with a triangular projection on left side and an angulation on right; TT11 and 13 with strong projections, slenderer on T13 ( Fig. 2B View FIGURE 2 ).

Legs. Tarsal articulation well defined on all legs. Leg 15 with accessory apical claw. Plectrotaxy as in Table 2 View TABLE 2 .

Coxal pores. 5565/5665, ovate, separated by less than their diameter ( Fig. 2D View FIGURE 2 ).

Female gonopods. 3+3 conical spurs, inner spur about 60% length of largest (outer) spur. Claw bipartite, its two denticles subequal in size or outer spur slightly larger. First article of gonopod bearing 10–12 ventral setae, second article nine, third article three ( Figs 2D View FIGURE 2 , 8A View FIGURE 8 ).

Description of the newly collected specimen (male NHMW MY10387).

Size. Length (anterior margin of cephalic plate to posterior margin of telson) 24.5 mm ( Fig. 3A View FIGURE 3 ).

Colour (in 96% ethanol). Cephalic plate purple-brownish-yellow; anterior tergites purple-yellow, darker from posterior half of trunk; antennae and legs pale purple-yellow ( Fig. 3A, B View FIGURE 3 ).

Cephalic plate. Width slightly greater than length. Lateral marginal interruption distinct. Posterior border faintly convex backwards ( Fig. 3B View FIGURE 3 ).

Antennae. 45+ (broken)/50(detached) articles ( Fig. 3A, B, D View FIGURE 3 ).

Ocelli. 1+16 and 1+15 ocelli (left and right side of cephalic plate, respectively), in four rows. Posterior ocellus ovoid, its long axis nearly twice the diameter of largest seriate ocellus.

Tömösváry’s organ. Slightly separated at anteroventral edge of ocellar field, about as large as adjacent ocelli ( Fig. 3C View FIGURE 3 ).

Forcipular coxosternite. 4+4 teeth; inner tooth positioned posterior to the others; second and fourth (outer) teeth larger, equal sized; third tooth similar in size to inner one ( Figs 3D View FIGURE 3 , 4A View FIGURE 4 ). Median diastema V-shaped. Porodont translucent, shorter and stouter than in the described type ( Fig. 4A View FIGURE 4 ). Anterior part of coxosternite bearing numerous long setae.

Tergites.T1 almost 95% width of cephalic plate and T3. T9 with short, blunt projections; TT11 and 13 with strong projections, slenderer on T13 ( Fig. 4B View FIGURE 4 ).

Legs. Tarsal articulation well defined on all legs. Leg 15 with accessory apical claw. Plectrotaxy as in Table 7 View TABLE 7 .

Coxal pores. 7776/7766, ovate, separated by less than their diameter ( Fig. 4C View FIGURE 4 ).

Male sexual characters. Legs 13 with paired sulci on prefemur,14 and 15 with paired sulci on prefemur and femur, faintly visible on tibiae ( Fig. 5B View FIGURE 5 ). Posterior margin of first genital sternite gently concave. Gonopod twosegmented, both articles bearing several setae ( Fig. 4C View FIGURE 4 ).

Variability. See Table 1 View TABLE 1 for meristic characters and Tables 2–9 View TABLE 2 View TABLE 3 View TABLE 4 View TABLE 5 View TABLE 6 View TABLE 7 View TABLE 8 View TABLE 9 for plectrotaxy of all specimens referred to L. iranicus and its subjective synonyms. L. inaequidens syn. nov. and L. rhiknus syn. nov. Variably present spines are 13VpT (usually present), 14VmT (usually present), 14DaT (usually present), 15VmT (present or absent in similar frequency), and 15DpT (usually absent). Between type specimens, either second or fourth coxosternal tooth positioned most anteriorly. Median diastema ranging from shallow to relatively deeply U- or V-shaped.

Males with pair of dorsal sulci on (prefemur) femur and tibia of legs 14 and 15, on femur and variably tibia of leg 13 ( Fig. 5 View FIGURE 5 ).

Attems (1951) gave similar type localities for his nominal species Lithobius inaequidens syn. nov.: “Tscheran Ham. Lahidschan, Buchenwald. Sabzawaran”. The label data accompanying the specimens bear different codes, viz. F111, which is according to Starmühlner & Edlauer (1957): Lahijan (Gilan), loamy steep slope (N-exposed). We chose the same coordinates as the lectotype of L. iranicus . The second label “ Teheran Hain I.50”, which translates to “ Teheran grove”, cannot be assigned to a precise locality. The locality “Sabzawaran” corresponds today to Jiroft with a precision of ca 20 km. No label data associated with Attems’ material indicate what specimen(s) of L. inaequidens came from Sabzawaran and, given that is far to the south of the two records that can be corroborated, we do not map its occurrence in Sabzawaran/Jiroft.

We opted against the selection of a lectotype for the name-bearing types of Lithobius rhiknus syn. nov. as it remains impossible to pinpoint the type localities with precision as according to the label data, both syntypes originate from two different localities in Mazandaran (“H82” and “H87”), a province also located along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea. Attems (1951) stated “Chorramabad. Dschungel bei Tschalous” (translating Khorramabad. Jungle in Chalus) as type localities of the species, which most likely also correspond to the cities Khorramabad and Chalus, both in Prov. Mazandaran.