Steneurytion morbosus explained

Steneurytion morbosus is a species of centipede in the Geophilidae family. This species was first described in 1877 by New Zealand naturalist Frederick Hutton.^[1] Authorities would later deem Pachymeroides alter, Zelanion paucipes, and Zelanion similis to be junior synonyms. Some authorities do not include this species in the genus Steneurytion.^[2]

Description

The original description of this species notes a pale reddish yellow body with a reddish brown head and a length of 1.85 inches. A more detailed description of the type material notes a female specimen with 39 pairs of legs and a maximum length of 43 mm.^[3] A more recent description of the species based on a larger sample reports 39 to 41 segments. The original descriptions of three junior synonyms, however, report 33, 37, and 39 pairs of legs.^[4]

Distribution

The species occurs in Victoria, south-eastern Australia, as well as in New Zealand.^{[1] [5]}

Behaviour

The centipedes are solitary terrestrial predators that inhabit plant litter, soil and rotting wood.^[5]

Notes and References

1. Web site: 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 . ChiloBase 2.0 . A World Catalogue of Centipedes (Chilopoda) . Rosario Dioguardi and Giuseppe Cortese, University of Padua. 26 February 2023.
2. Bonato . Lucio . Pereira . Luis A. . Minelli . Alessandro . 2007-05-28 . Taxonomic and nomenclatural notes on the centipede genera Chomatobius, Ityphilus, Hapleurytion, Plateurytion, and Steneurytion (Chilopoda: Geophilomorpha) . Zootaxa . 1485 . 1 . 1–12 [8–9] . 10.11646/zootaxa.1485.1.1 .
3. Pocock . R.I. . 1891 . Descriptions of some new Geophilidae in the collection of the British Museum . Annals and Magazine of Natural History . (6)8 . 215–227 [221-222] . Biodiversity Heritage Library.
4. Chamberlin . Ralph V. . 1920 . The Myriopoda of the Australian region . Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College . 64 . 1 . 1–269 [41–42, 46–47] . Biodiversity Heritage Library.
5. Web site: Species Sepedonophilus morbosus (Hutton, 1877) . . 2010. Australian Faunal Directory . Dept of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Australia . 26 February 2023.