Agnostrup striatus

Agnostrup striatus (Takakuwa, 1949) Figs 3, 4 Taiwanella striata Takakuwa 1949: 51–69, fig 1. Taiwanella striata: Wang 1996: 81–99. Agnostrup striatus: Foddai et al. 2003: 1255. Material examined. Neotype (this paper formally assigns): 1 male (CMMI 20231104002 D), China, Shanxi Province, Changzhi, Taihang Grand Canyon; 35.9450 ° N, 113.4520 ° E; 1280 m a. s. l.; 4 Nov. 2023; coll. Tianyun Chen, Jiabo Fan & Yuan Xiong. Non-type specimens: 1 female (CMMI 20231104001 D), same data as neotype • 1 female (20240629001 D), China, Shanxi Province, Ningwu County, Qingren Valley Scenic Area; 38.7980 ° N, 112.0365 ° E; 1798 m a. s. l.; 29 Jun. 2024; coll. Jiabo Fan & Yizhan Shi • 1 female (CMMI 20231101001 D), China, Shanxi Province, Xinzhou, Mt. Luyashan; 38.9166 ° N, 112.1031 ° E; 1910 m a. s. l.; 1 Nov. 2023; coll. Tianyun Chen, Jiabo Fan & Yuan Xiong. Diagnosis. An Agnostrup species with areolate part of the clypeus bearing a smooth insulae on each side. Telopodites of second maxillae with or without a rudimentary truncate claw. Forcipular article I with one large distal tooth, articles II without tooth, articles III with one acute tooth, tarsungulum with one large basal tooth. Re-description. [The original holotype data from Takakuwa and Takashima (1949) is provided in parentheses]: Body length 20–33 mm (35 mm). Head and forcipule segment dark red in color, rest yellow. Cephalic plate (Fig. 3 A, B): Head 1.5–1.7 times as long as wide, lateral margins slightly convergent backward; frontal line slight protuberance, almost parallel; some setae and punctate depressions in the anterior of back side. Antennae (Fig. 3 C): with 14 articles, the distal end slightly attenuate. Setae are scattered on articles I to VII, while on the remaining articles, the setae are denser and more uniform in size. Clypeus (Fig. 3 D): Clypeal ratio about 1.2; areolate part with 5–8 (5–7) setae, an evident smooth insulae on each side, insulae bearing 2 (1) setae. clypeal plagulae with 3–4 (4–5) setae and an irregular anterior margin. Labrum (Fig. 3 D): anterior ala triangular, medial margin reduced to a vertex; posterior margin of each side-piece straight, not crenulate, and without hair-like projections. Mandible (Fig. 3 E): bearing 5 well-developed lamellae; average intermediate lamella with approximately 5 (7) teeth, all teeth of similar size. First maxillae (Fig. 3 F): coxosternite divided by mid-longitudinal, anterior corners of coxosternum not projecting; each medial projection about 1.2 times as long as wide, with 3 setae, the distal lobe clavate; telopodite about 2–2.1 times as long as wide, without seta, the distal lobe attenuated. Second maxillae (Fig. 3 F): coxosternite medially undivided, without suture; article I of the telopodite about 2.3–2.4 times as long as wide; article III about 2–2.7 times as long as wide, with several setae; telopodites tri-articulate overreaching medial projections; and telopodites of first maxillae. The pretarsus in the form of a rudimentary truncate claw. Forcipular segment (Fig. 4 A – C): The exposed part of the coxosternite is as long as it is wide. anterior margin with shallow medial concavity and with one pair of denticles. Forcipules: the length-to-width ratio of article I is greater than one with a well-developed tooth; articles II without tooth; articles III with one acute tooth; tarsungulum with a long basal tooth. Poison calyx only reaching the distal part of forcipular article I. Leg-bearing segments (Fig. 4 D, E): 41 leg-bearing segments; represented by very shallow mid-longitudinal thickening, anterior not furcate; no ventral glandular pores on each metasternite; the first pair of legs much smaller than the rest and the distributed bristles. Ultimate leg-bearing segment (Fig. 4 F – I): sternum sub-triangular, as long as wide; about 15 pores on each coxopleuron. Ultimate legs with or without a small apical tubercle covered with small spines. Postpedal segments (Fig. 4 F – I): The female and male gonopods are both distinct and biarticulate, with a few setae. Remarks. The type material of the species Taiwanella striata (Takakuwa, 1949) is not available and is probably lost (Foddai et al. 2003). Similarly, Takashima (1954, 1955) conducted a survey of the centipede-type specimens existing in Japan and did not find the holotype of T. striatus, speculating that it may have been destroyed during World War II. The type locality of T. striata is an unknown locality (Japanese phonetic; it is pronounced near Cinkaiji) of Shanxi, China. We were unable to match it to any present geographical name but collected four fresh specimens morphologically matching this species from Shanxi. Therefore, we designate the specimen that most closely matches the original description as the neotype for this species. Among these, three specimens had a noticeable rudimentary truncate claw on the telopodites of the second maxillae, while one specimen clearly lacked the claw. The claw of the second maxillae was clearly described by Takakuwa and Takashima (1949), but Foddai et al. (2003) and Uliana et al. (2007) believed that the genus Agnostrup lacks claws on the telopodites of the second maxillae. We conducted meticulous morphological examinations, genetic distance, and molecular phylogenetic analyses on these samples, confirming that they all belong to the same species. The differences in this characteristic are identified as minor morphological variations (Fig. 5). The original description by Takakuwa and Takashima (1949) clearly indicates several smooth insulae on the clypeus, with the third segment of the forcipular article III lacking teeth. This is notably different from the specimens we found in Shanxi: the forcipular article III with one acute tooth in dorsal view, each side of the clypeus bears a smooth insulae, with two setae on each insulae. Distribution. China (Shanxi).