The peristomatic structures as a source of systematic characters in the genus Lithobius Leach, 1814 (Myriapoda, Chilopoda)

By

Ganske, Anne-Sarah
Edgecombe, Gregory D.
Akkari, Nesrine

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2018

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

741

Pages

49-75

Subjects

epipharynx , hypopharynx , Lithobiidae , Lithobiomorpha , Phylogeny , systematics

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.741.21706

 

Abstract

Morphological characters have been widely used in centipede systematics. Here, we aim to obtain morphological information from the preoral chamber and peristomatic structures of lithobiomorph centipedes, with taxonomic sampling focused on the species-rich genusLithobiusLeach, 1814. Towards this goal, we (i) examined the epipharynx and hypopharynx of 32 species belonging to four subgenera of the genusLithobius, viz.LithobiusLeach, 1814,MonotarsobiusVerhoeff, 1905,SigibiusChamberlin, 1913 andEzembiusChamberlin, 1919 using light and scanning electron microscopy, (ii) searched for phylogenetically informative characters and (iii) described interspecific variation. Three species of the lithobiid generaEupolybothrusVerhoeff, 1907,DisphaerobiusAttems, 1926 andNeolithobiusStuxberg, 1875 were additionally examined and considered as likely outgroups. New characters and character states are proposed as additions to current phylogenetic datasets. Similarities in the peristomatic structures allyDisphaerobiuswith Lithobius (Ezembius), suggesting that the subfamily Pterygoterginae is nested within Lithobiinae andLithobius.