Mecistocephalus lifuensis | |
---|---|
Scientific classification
![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Subphylum: | Myriapoda |
Class: | Chilopoda |
Order: | Geophilomorpha |
Family: | Mecistocephalidae |
Genus: | Mecistocephalus |
Species: | M. lifuensis
|
Binomial name | |
Mecistocephalus lifuensis
Pocock, 1898
|
Mecistocephalus lifuensis is a species of 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 was the first species discovered in the genus Mecistocephalus with 51 pairs of legs rather than the 49 leg pairs usually observed in this genus. [4] [5]
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 feature 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. [2]
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. [1]
The species is found in the Loyalty Islands Province of New Caledonia. [1] [6]
Mecistocephalus lifuensis | |
---|---|
Scientific classification
![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Subphylum: | Myriapoda |
Class: | Chilopoda |
Order: | Geophilomorpha |
Family: | Mecistocephalidae |
Genus: | Mecistocephalus |
Species: | M. lifuensis
|
Binomial name | |
Mecistocephalus lifuensis
Pocock, 1898
|
Mecistocephalus lifuensis is a species of 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 was the first species discovered in the genus Mecistocephalus with 51 pairs of legs rather than the 49 leg pairs usually observed in this genus. [4] [5]
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 feature 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. [2]
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. [1]
The species is found in the Loyalty Islands Province of New Caledonia. [1] [6]