A new high-altitude species of centipede from the Andes of Ecuador (Chilopoda, Geophilomorpha, Schendylidae)

Zootaxa. 2018 Jan 18;4374(3):409-426. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.4374.3.5.

Abstract

Pectiniunguis aequatorialis sp. nov. (Chilopoda: Geophilomorpha: Schendylidae) is described and illustrated on the basis of specimens collected in the Cayambe-Coca Ecological Reserve in the High Andes of Ecuador. The new species is characterized by having ventral pore-fields on the anterior region of the trunk only, a trait that is shared by a single Neotropical congener: Pectiniunguis ascendens Pereira, Minelli Barbieri, 1994 to which it is similar and is compared taxonomically. This is only the second report of a species of the genus Pectiniunguis Bollman, 1889 from mainland Ecuador. The other taxon is Pectiniunguis roigi Pereira, Foddai Minelli, 2001, so far only known from the type locality, Limoncocha (Sucumbíos Province), and herein reported for the first time from Parque Nacional Sumaco Napo-Galeras (Napo Province).

Keywords: Myriapoda, Chilopoda, Geophilomorpha, Schendylidae, Pectiniunguis, new species, new record, High Andes, Amazon, continental Ecuador, South America.

MeSH terms

  • Altitude
  • Animals
  • Arthropods*
  • Ecology
  • Ecuador