Mecistocephalus simplex
| Mecistocephalus simplex | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Myriapoda |
| Class: | Chilopoda |
| Order: | Geophilomorpha |
| Family: | Mecistocephalidae |
| Genus: | Mecistocephalus |
| Species: | M. simplex
|
| Binomial name | |
| Mecistocephalus simplex Chamberlin, 1920
| |
Mecistocephalus simplex is a species of soil centipede in the Mecistocephalidae family.[1] This centipede is found in Australia and the Solomon Islands.[2][3] This species features 49 pairs of legs and can reach 40 mm in length.[4]
Discovery
This species was first described in 1920 by American biologist Ralph Vary Chamberlin.[4][1] He based the original description of this species on a holotype found by the American zoologist William Morton Wheeler in 1914 in the region of Cairns in Queensland in Australia. This holotype is deposited in the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University.[4][5]
Description
This species features 49 leg pairs and can reach 40 mm in length. The body is fulvous, but the head and forcipules are chestnut. The head is 1.66 times as long as wide. The mandible features seven pectinate lamellae (comb blades) with teeth down to the base. The distal teeth are longer than the proximal teeth. The teeth on the first article of the forcipules are stout, blunt, and rounded. The groove on the sternites of the anterior segments is forked at the anterior end, with the branches forming obtuse angles. The basal elements of the ultimate legs feature numerous small pores.[4]
This species shares many traits with another species of Mecistocephalus found in Queensland, M. kurandanus. For example, as in all species in this genus, the head in each of these two species is evidently longer than wide, and the sternites of the trunk segments in each species feature a groove.[4][6][7] Furthermore, like most species in this genus, these two species each feature 49 leg-bearing segments.[4][6] Moreover, the groove on the sternites in both species is forked, and both species feature numerous small pores on the ultimate legs.[4]
The species M. simplex can be distinguished from M. kurandanus, however, based on other traits. For example, the branches of the groove on the sternites form obtuse angles in M. simplex but more rectangular angles in M. kurandanus. Furthermore, the posterior margin of the side pieces of the labrum feature notches in M. kurandanus that are absent in M. simplex.[4]
Distribution
The species M. simplex is found not only in coastal northeastern Queensland in Australia but also in the Solomon Islands.[2][3] In Queensland, this species has been recorded not only at the type locality (Cairns) but also in the town of Kuranda.[1][8] In the Solomon Islands, this species has been recorded on the Olu Malau Islands in the province of Makira-Ulawa.[3]
Ecology
This centipede is a solitary terrestrial predator that inhabits plant litter and soil.[2]
References
- ^ a b c Bonato, L.; Chagas Junior, A.; Edgecombe, G.D.; Lewis, J.G.E.; Minelli, A.; Pereira, L.A.; Shelley, R.M.; Stoev, P.; Zapparoli, M. (2016). "Mecistocephalus simplex Chamberlin, 1920". ChiloBase 2.0 - A World Catalogue of Centipedes (Chilopoda). Retrieved 2025-10-13.
- ^ a b c "Species Mecistocephalus simplex Chamberlin, 1920". Australian Faunal Directory. Dept of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Australia. 2010. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
- ^ a b c "MCZbase MCZ:IZ:31741 specimen record | MCZbase". mczbase.mcz.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2025-10-13.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Chamberlin, Ralph V. (1920). "The Myriopoda of the Australian region". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 64 (1): 1–269 [60-61].
- ^ "MCZbase MCZ:IZ:CHIL-2067 specimen record | MCZbase". mczbase.mcz.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2025-10-13.
- ^ a b Bonato, L.; Minelli, A. (2004). "The centipede genus Mecistocephalus Newport 1843 in the Indian Peninsula (Chilopoda Geophilomorpha Mecistocephalidae)". Tropical Zoology. 17 (1): 15–63 [20, 56]. Bibcode:2004TrZoo..17...15B. doi:10.1080/03946975.2004.10531198. ISSN 0394-6975. S2CID 85304657.
- ^ Uliana, Marco; Bonato, Lucio; Minelli, Alessandro (2007-01-22). "The Mecistocephalidae of the Japanese and Taiwanese islands (Chilopoda: Geophilomorpha)". Zootaxa. 1396 (1): 1–84 [30]. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1396.1.1. ISSN 1175-5334.
- ^ "MCZbase MCZ:IZ:29198 specimen record | MCZbase". mczbase.mcz.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2025-10-13.