Centipede Subfamily Plutoniuminae 59 



America, it became the type species of Theatops (Newport 1844), based 

 on the aforementioned specimen from Say. Gervais (1847) placed Theatops 

 under Cryptops, though indicating that it might refer to a form of 

 Scolopendra. Koch (1847) described C. erythrocephalus from Pula, 

 Croatia, on the Istrian peninsula, and enhanced the description in 

 an expanded account (1863) with a full-length illustration. He did 

 not connect this centipede with Say's species and said nothing about 

 Theatops, if he was even aware of Newport's taxon. Wood (1862) 

 proposed Opisthemega for two ostensibly new species, O. postica and 

 O. spinicauda, from North Carolina and Illinois, respectively, without 

 designating either as type species. Wood stated that O. postica lacked 

 eyes; questioned whether it was identical to Say's species because it 

 agreed with T. postica except for the eyes and teeth; and suggested 

 that Newport might be mistaken about the presence of ocelli. However, 

 he followed these accounts with others on Theatops and T. postica 

 stating, "We have never seen a specimen of this species." Wood (1865) 

 repeated his previous accounts of all these taxa, adding west Pennsylvania 

 to the localities of O. spinicaudus. Cope (1869) cited O. postica from 

 the mountains of southwestern Virginia, misspelling Wood's genus 

 as "Opisthomega" and Saussure and Humbert (1872) repeated the previous 

 names and localities. 



In the ensuing decade, Latzel (1880) tentatively placed Theatops 

 in synonymy under Scolopendra. He recognized Opisthemega and trans- 

 ferred Koch's species into this genus, forming the new combination, 

 O. erythrocephalum. Kohlrausch (1881) recognized both Theatops and 

 Opisthemega; included postica under both names and Cryptops; cited 

 erythrocephalus under Cryptops and Opisthemega; but listed spinicauda 

 under Opisthemega only. Cavanna (1881) erected Plutonium for a new 

 centipede from Sicily, P. zwierleini, possessing spiracles on segments 

 2-20. Meinert (1886) recorded O. spinicauda from Acapulco, Mexico; 

 proposed the synonym, O. insulare, for specimens ostensibly from Hawaii, 

 then called the Sandwich Islands; and erected O. crassipes for specimens 

 from Florida, Virginia, and Kentucky. Though he questioned its distinction 

 from O. postica, McNeill (1887, 1888) 5 recorded O. crassipes from 

 Indiana and Escambia County, Florida. In addition to synonymizing 

 Opisthemega with Theatops, Pocock (1888) also placed O. postica and 

 O. crassipes under T. postica. The remaining publications of this decade 

 belong to Bollman (1888a-e), who cited the new combination T crassipes, 

 placed postica under Cryptops, Theatops, and Opisthemega, and reported 



5 To conserve space, subsequent publications that merely provide new localities are summarized 

 in the species listings at the conclusion of this section. 



