Abstract
The little that remains of Motschoulsky’s myriapodological legacy in the collection of Moscow’s Zoological Museum proves to be of very limited value. Only one species of Diplopoda described by Motschoulsky, the Caucasian Hirudisoma roseum (Victor, 1839), is still in use, yet requiring a neotype designation, whereas the remaining few myriapod names he proposed are either nomina dubia or nomina nuda. The former include Scolopendra pentagramma Motschoulsky, 1866 (Chilopoda, Scolopendromorpha, Scolopendridae) and Strongylosoma carinulatum Motschoulsky, 1866 (Diplopoda, Polydesmida, Paradoxosomatidae), both from Japan, as well as Julus costulatus Motschoulsky, 1851 (Diplopoda, Callipodida, Schizopetalidae?), from Montenegro, because their type material is either inadequate or missing.
Highlights
Motschoulsky’s published contributions to myriapodology are very few, but even these have largely remained neglected
Much of the material is in poor condition, damaged by dermestid beetle larvae. Despite such a profound diversity, most of the diplopods are devoid of labels
Even though no type material of that species could be traced in the ZMUM box, the identity of H. roseum, a presumed Caucasian endemic, will become unquestioned as soon as a neotype is designated in the future
Summary
Motschoulsky’s published contributions to myriapodology are very few, but even these have largely remained neglected. Material The Moscow Museum collection of Myriapoda still contains Motschoulsky’s original wooden box full of dry pinned animals (Fig. 2)! The few samples of “Polyzonium germanicum Brandt” contained in the ZMUM box may well represent the material Motschoulsky (1853) reported from Valaam Island, White Sea, Russia’s North (Russian translation: Krivokhatsky 2013: 176).
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