Mecistocephalus lifuensis explained

Mecistocephalus lifuensis is a species of soil centipede in the Mecistocephalidae family.^[1] This species was first described in 1898 by zoologist Reginald Innes Pocock based on type material found on is Lifou Island in New Caledonia, a French overseas territory in Melanesia.^{[2] [3]} This centipede is notable for featuring 51 pairs of legs rather than the 49 leg pairs usually observed in the genus Mecistocephalus.^{[4] [5]}

Description

This species has 51 pairs of legs and can reach 41 mm in length.^[6] The body is yellow, but the head is a medium reddish shade of brown. Each sternite but the last features a groove down the middle. This groove is Y-shaped on the anterior segments. The last sternite is broad at the base, shaped like a triangle pointed toward the posterior end. The ultimate legs are slender.

Phylogeny

A phylogenetic analysis of the family Mecistocephalidae based on morphology places M. lifuensis in a clade nested among other species in the genus Mecistocephalus with 49 leg pairs in a phylogenetic tree. This analysis also indicates that the ancestor of this species had 49 leg pairs. Thus, this species evolved from this ancestor through a process that added two leg-bearing segments and two leg pairs.

Distribution

The species is found in the Loyalty Islands Province of New Caledonia.

Notes and References

1. Bonato . Lucio . Foddai . Donatella . Minelli . Alessandro . 2003 . Evolutionary trends and patterns in centipede segment number based on a cladistic analysis of Mecistocephalidae (Chilopoda: Geophilomorpha) . Systematic Entomology . en . 28 . 4 . 539–579 . 10.1046/j.1365-3113.2003.00217.x . 0307-6970.
2. Pocock . Reginald I. . 1898 . Report on the centipedes and millipedes . Zoological results based on material from New Britain, New Guinea, Loyalty Islands and elsewhere, collected during the years 1895, 1896, and 1897 . 1 . 60-74 [63] . Biodiversity Heritage Library.
3. Book: Attems, Carl . Lfg. 52 Myriapoda, 1: Geophilomorpha . De Gruyter . 1929 . 978-3-11-143063-8 . Attems . Karl . 138 . de . 10.1515/9783111430638.
4. Evans . W. Edgar . Brolemann . Henry W. . 1923 . VI.—Myriapods collected in Mesopotamia and N.W. Persia . Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh . en . 42 . 54–74 [56] . 10.1017/S0370164600023841 . 0370-1646.
5. Bonato . L. . Minelli . A. . 2004 . The centipede genus Mecistocephalus Newport 1843 in the Indian Peninsula (Chilopoda Geophilomorpha Mecistocephalidae) . Tropical Zoology . en . 17 . 1 . 15–63 [56] . 10.1080/03946975.2004.10531198 . 0394-6975 . 85304657.
6. Ribaut . H. . 1923 . Chilopodes de la Nouvelle-Calédonie et des Îles Loyalty . Nova Caledonia, Recherches Scientifiques en Nouvelle-Calédonie et aux Îles Loyalty . French . 3 . 1 . 1-79 [63-64] . Biodiversity Heritage Library.