# Agnostrup

Agnostrup is a genus of soil centipedes in the family Mecistocephalidae. This genus contains three species. These centipedes are found in temperate regions of East Asia.

## Taxonomy

This genus was first described in 2003 by the biologists Donatella Foddai, Lucio Bonato, Luis Alberto Pereira, and Alessandro Minelli to contain three species originally assigned to other genera: Taiwanella striata, described in 1949, Taiwanella paucipes, described in 1955, and Krateraspis striganovae, described in 1975. The genus name derives from the Greek word agnostos, which refers to the forgotten status of these three species since their original descriptions, and the name Arrup, which refers to a closely related genus. A phylogenetic analysis of closely related species of soil centipedes based on morphology placed these three species together their own clade in a phylogenetic tree. Foddai and her colleagues designated Agnostrup striganovae as the type species.

## Distribution

The species Agnostrup striatus is found in Shanxi province in northeastern China. The species A. paucipes is found on the island of Honshu in Japan. The type species A. striganovae is found in the Maritime Territory (Primorsky Krai) in the Russian Far East.

## Description

All species in this genus have 41 leg-bearing segments. The centipedes in this genus range from about 20 mm to 35 mm in length. The body is homogenous in pigmentation, without darker patches. The head in this genus features a transverse suture on the front of the dorsal surface. The side pieces of the labrum are fully divided into anterior and posterior sclerites. The clypeus features a longitudinal areolate stripe down the middle. The pleurites on the side of the head lack setae. The coxosternite of the first maxillae is divided down the middle by a distinct longitudinal suture, but the coxosternite of the second maxillae is undivided. The telopodites of the second maxillae are poorly developed, lack claws, and are too small to reach distinctly beyond the first maxillae. The first article of each forcipule features one large distal tooth, and the ultimate article features one large basal tooth. The groove on the ventral surface of the trunk segments is not forked.

## Phylogeny

A cladistic analysis of the family Mecistocephalidae using morphological features places the genus Agnostrup in the subfamily Arrupinae, along with the genera Arrup, Nannarrup, and Partygarrupius. Further cladistic analysis of the subfamily Arrupinae based on external morphology places the genus Agnostrup in a clade with a sister group formed by the genera Arrup and Nannarrup. The genus Agnostrup shares some distinctive features with its close relatives in the genera Arrup and Nannarrup. For example, in all three genera, the setae on the clypeus are arranged in two groups, one on each side of the clypeus. Furthermore, like all species of Agnostrup, all species of Arrup and Nannarrup have 41 pairs of legs.
A set of other traits distinguish the species in Agnostrup from their close relatives in Arrup. For example, the coxosternite of the first maxillae is divided in Agnostrup but undivided in Arrup. Furthermore, the anterior lateral corners of the clypeus features setae in Arrup but not in Agnostrup.
Similarly, another set of traits distinguish the species in Agnostrup from their close relatives in Nannarrup. For example, the head features a frontal line in Agnostrup but not in Nannarrup. Furthermore, the side pieces of the labrum are fully divided into anterior and posterior sclerites in Agnostrup but not in Nannarrup.

## Species

This genus currently includes three accepted species:
* Agnostrup paucipes (Miyosi, 1955)
* Agnostrup striatus (Takakuwa, 1949)
* Agnostrup striganovae (Titova, 1975)