Otostigmus poonamae Khanna & Tripathi, 1986

Lewis, John G. E., 2014, A review of the orientalis group of the Otostigmus subgenus Otostigmus Porat, 1876 (Chilopoda: Scolopendromorpha: Scolopendridae), Zootaxa 3889 (3), pp. 388-413 : 405

Otostigmus poonamae Khanna & Tripathi, 1986

O. poonamae Khanna & Tripathi, 1986: 38 , Figs 1 –6. Himachal Pradesh, India. O. poonamae: Khanna, 2008 , 39 (in list).

Remarks. Khanna & Tripathi (1986) characterise the genus Otostigmus primarily as possessing nine pairs of oval unoperculate spiracles and head overlapped posteriorly by tergite 1. However, their Fig. 1 shows the cephalic plate overlapping tergite 1 as, for example, in Scolopendra . Another character seen in Scolopendra but not Otostigmus is the spined ultimate leg prefemoral process. The authors describe tergites 20 and 21 as having a median sulcus but these would appear from their Fig.5 to be sutures, not seen in Otostigmus but present on T 21 in some Scolopendra species. However, the basal 2½–2 2/3 antennal articles are glabrous in O. poonamae as in many Otostigmus species (in Scolopendra the basal four or more articles are glabrous).

Clearly O. poonamae is quite unlike other Otostigmus species. I suspect that it is a Scolopendra and regard it as a nomen dubium.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 4. Otostigmus ateles Holotype. 1. Antennal articles 1 – 3 dorsal. 2. Forcipular coxosternal tooth-plates. 3. Sternite 17. 4. Ultimate segments ventral. FIGURES 5 – 11. Otostigmus australianus 5. Sternite 12 Lectotype. 6. Sternite of ultimate leg-bearing segment spm. 2 Belenden Ker (after Lewis, 2003). 7. Sternite of ultimate leg-bearing segment spm. 3 Belenden Ker (after Lewis, 2003). 8. Right forcipular trochanteroprefemoral process and tooth-plates spm. 7 Malanda. 9. Sternite 6 spm. 7 Malanda. 10. Sternite 12 spm. 7 Malanda after (Lewis, 2003). 11. Ultimate segments ventral spm. 7 Malanda. Scale bars = 1.0 mm except Figs 1 & 2 = 0.5 mm.