A PRELIMINARY REVIEW OF ZELANOPHILUS WITH 
DESCRIPTION OF A NEW AUSTRALIAN SPECIES 
(CHILOPODA : GEOPHILOMORPHA : GEOPHILIDAE ) 1 
By R. E. Crabill, Jr. 
Smithsonian Institution, U. S. National Museum, Washington, D. C. 
The genus Zelanophilus , hitherto known only from New Zealand 
by a single species, provocator, is of special interest for several reasons. 
First, it is restricted, so far as we know now, to New Zealand and 
Australia yet is clearly similar in certain notable features to some 
equally bizarre genera known sporadically from the Indo-Australian 
area, e.g. Tasmanophilus , Australiophilus , Sogophagus , Eucratonyx. 
The suprageneric allocation of these and of some other evidently 
related genera has never been demonstrated convincingly. Secondly, 
Zelanophilus on the basis of some characters could be construed as 
occupying an almost annectent position between the Geophilidae (Geo- 
philinae) and that section of the Schendylidae typified by Escaryus. 
A full discussion of the higher categorical considerations involved is 
beyond the scope of this paper but will be treated in a future publica- 
tion whose supportive studies are still being undertaken. At this 
time I wish to clarify the identities of the genus and its type-species, 
provocator, and to describe a new species of the genus. It is of par- 
ticular interest in that it is the second one known and extends the 
known distribution of Zelanophilus (sensu stricto) to Australia. 
Like provocator, the new form exhibits the following especially 
significant, generically diagnostic characteristics. The teeth of the 
mandible are weakly but distinctly heterogenous. The first maxillary 
coxosternum is continuous centrally, not divided, and lacks lappets. 
The claw of the second maxillary telopodite is coarsely bristled ( his- 
pidate). A clypeal fenestra (clypeal area) is absent. Well-developed 
or vestigial anterior clypeal smooth areas (plagulae) are present. The 
labral sidepieces are in contact with each other or nearly so, i.e. the 
Hhis study was undertaken with the aid of a grant from the National 
Science Foundation. I should like to express my gratitude to the following 
colleagues and friends who have generously and repeatedly placed at my 
disposal the specimens in the collections of their museums: Dr. H. W. Levi, 
Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University; Dr. G. O. Evans 
and his colleagues, British Museum (Natural History), London; Mr. P. M. 
Johns, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand; Dr. Gerhard 
Pretzmann, Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna; Dr. Wolfgang Engelhardt, 
Zoologische Sammlung des Bayerischen Staates, Munich. 
Manuscript received by the editor Feb. 12, 1963. 
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