Abstract
The widespread European centipede species Lithobius (Monotarsobius) crassipes L. Koch, 1862 was revised using an integrative approach incorporating sequence data and morphology. The partial mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) barcoding gene was amplified and sequenced for 21 individuals from northern Spain, France and Germany as well as for individuals of three other species of the subgenus Monotarsobius Verhoeff, 1905. The dataset was used for molecular phylogenetic analysis and genetic distance determination. In addition, Monotarsobius specimens from more than 100 localities in northern Spain, France, and Germany were morphologically investigated. Both morphological and molecular data indicate that specimens from the Navarre and Gipuzkoa provinces, northern Spain, represent a distinct pseudo-cryptic species, only differing in some minor characters from L. crassipes. The new species L. (Monotarsobius) crassipesoides sp. n. is described and compared to L. crassipes in detail using morphology and morphometric statistics for body, head, and antennae length, number of ocelli and coxal pores, as well as the starting leg for legpair spines Vmt and DaP. The Iberian and European records of L. crassipes are discussed. The subspecies L. crassipes morenoi Garcia Ruiz, 2014 from Southern Spain is elevated to species as L. morenoi stat. n. A checklist, distribution map and key to all five species of Monotarsobius of the Iberian Peninsula are presented.
Highlights
53 species and seven subspecies of the genus Lithobius Leach, 1814 are known from the Iberian Peninsula (Salinas 1990, Garcia Ruiz 2015, Iorio 2016, Iorio unpublished), of which 24 species and six subspecies are endemic to the region, which comprises continental Spain and Portugal
Senckenberg Museum of Natural History Zoologische Staatssammlung München Museum of Zoology of the University of Navarra participants in the Navarre field trip in 2009 antennae length body length head length legpair coxa prefemur femur tibia trochanter tarsus anterior spine median spine posterior spine ventral dorsal. The monophyly of both Lithobius crassipesoides sp. n. and L. crassipes is well supported with bootstrap values of 99 and 98 respectively (Fig. 1), as well as L. curtipes (96) and L. austriacus (99)
Molecular and morphological comparison of L. crassipesoides sp. n. and L. crassipes. Both molecular analysis (Fig. 1) and morphology support the hypothesis that the northern Spanish L. crassipes-like specimens represent a species genetically and morphologically distinct from L. crassipes
Summary
53 species and seven subspecies of the genus Lithobius Leach, 1814 are known from the Iberian Peninsula (Salinas 1990, Garcia Ruiz 2015, Iorio 2016, Iorio unpublished), of which 24 species and six subspecies are endemic to the region, which comprises continental Spain and Portugal. Koch, 1862 and three other taxa endemic to Spain: L. blascoi Eason, 1991, L. crassipes morenoi Garcia Ruiz & Baena, 2014, and L. osellai Matic, 1968. This subgenus was reviewed by Serra (1982) for Iberia, together with a species from the Canary Islands and two species assigned to Sigibius. Morenoi, most Monotarsobius records are of L. crassipes (Meinert 1872, Attems 1952, Barace and Herrera 1980, Serra 1980, 1982) Beside the very few records of L. blascoi, L. osellai and L. c. morenoi, most Monotarsobius records are of L. crassipes (Meinert 1872, Attems 1952, Barace and Herrera 1980, Serra 1980, 1982)
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