Resolving the phylogenetic position of enigmatic New Guinea and Seychelles Scutigeromorpha (Chilopoda): a molecular and morphological assessment of Ballonemini

Abstract

Recent phylogenetic analyses of scutigeromorph centipedes omitted New Guinea endemics for lack of modern data, either from morphology or molecular sequences. Among these is the tribe Ballonemini, originally established for Ballonema Verhoeff, 1904, and Parascutigera Verhoeff, 1904, based on similar tergal prominences. Subsequent systematic revision led to their separation into different subfamilies. Combined analyses of morphology and sequence data including Ballonema gracilipes Verhoeff, 1904, resolve Ballonema either in a grade of Scutigerinae or as sister to all other Scutigerinae + Thereuoneminae. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) of the types of B. gracilipes demonstrates the utility of this technique for non-destructive imaging of historical museum material at a resolution comparable to scanning electron microscopy. A possible record of Ballonema in the Seychelles is dismissed; a collection from Silhouette samples a member of Thereuoneminae described as Seychellonema gerlachi, gen. nov. sp. nov. Morphological data, analysed with sequence data for other Scutigeromorpha, ally Seychellonema with the Oriental–Australian genus Thereuopoda Verhoeff, 1904, but it displays a novel patterning of its tergal spinula and tarsal papillae. The phylogenetic analyses include sequence data for African Pselliodidae, corroborating a sister group relationship to remaining Scutigeromorpha and generating a more stable result than in earlier analyses using only Neotropical species.