Newportia (Newportides) unguifer : Chamberlin 1921
Creators: name: Chagas-Jr, Amazonas
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Chilopoda
Scolopendromorpha
Scolopocryptopidae
Newportia
Newportia unguifer

description: Newportia (Newportides) unguifer Chamberlin, 1921
(Figures 18–29)
Newportia (Newportides) unguifer: Chamberlin, 1921: 9, Pl. 2, Fig. 10; Вücherl, 1974: 128; Newportia unguifer: Attems, 1930: 283, Fig. 382; Вücherl, 1940: 257; Вücherl, 1942: 90; Schileyko & Minelli, 1999: 292, Figs 13b, c;
Newportia (Newportides) tetraspinae: González-Sponga, 1997: Figs. 9–12; nov. syn.
Type material examined. Newportia unguifer: holotype MCZ-Chil (2177), Guyana (British Guyana), Labba Creek, Sand Hills, collected in 25.viii.1914;
Newportia tetraspinae: Syntypes MIZA (0016217, ex. MAGS 411), Venezuela, Ed. Bolivar, Piar, Rio Caruay, 21 Km from Kavanayen (925 m), 2 specimens collected in i.1989 by R. Graterol and M. Reggio.
Additional material examined. IBSP (3640), Brazil, Amazonas, São Gabriel da Cachoeira, Pico da Neblina, Laje 1550 m, 1 specimen collected in 3.x.2007 by David Candiani.
Remarks on the holotype of Newportia unguifer. The type specimen was not seen in person by [the author/ me]. However, the holotype of N. unguifer was examined on [the author’s/my] behalf by Cristiano Sampaio-Costa. He mainly studied the characters of ultimate legs, and observed that the prefemora have 4 short ventral spinous processes, apically curved, and the femora have 2 shorter ventral spinous processes. The tibia is unarmed, and tarsus 1 is shorter than tibia. Tarsus 2 is divided into articles, with rather indistinct annulation, and has a welldeveloped claw-shaped pretarsus. All of these ultimate leg characters were compared with additional material from N. unguifer, N. amazonica, and N. pilosa.
Diagnosis. Legs 3–18 with lateral and ventral tibial spurs; legs 19 and 20 with ventral tibial spurs. Ultimate femur with 2 very short ventral spinous processes; ultimate tarsus 1 shorter than tibia; tarsus 2 with articles, not well divided.
Redescription of specimen IBSP (3640). Length: 17 mm (18 mm); ultimate legs 6.5 mm (not described). Antennae short, reaching to the posterior margin of tergite 3. Right antenna with 11 articles and left with 17 (17 articles in both antennae); two basal articles glabrous, but with some long setae scattered on surface. Cephalic plate smooth, longer than wide, with shallow incomplete paramedian sutures reaching to its middle (Fig. 18).
Anterior margin of forcipular coxosternite slightly convex in the middle (Fig. 19). Coxosternal tooth-plates narrow and very short (Fig. 20). Coxosternite with a short median suture. (Fig. 21). Distal denticle of forcipular trochanteroprefemur very short (shorter than in N. amazonica).
Tergites smooth; tergite 1 with an anterior transverse suture and complete paramedian sutures; tergite 2 without sutures; tergites 3–22 (2–22) with complete paramedian sutures (Fig. 22); tergites 5–18 with lateral longitudinal sutures; tergites 5–20 with a low median longitudinal keel; tergites 1–22 without margination; tergite 23 marginated, with posterior margin medially convex. Sternites smooth; sternites 3–21 with an incomplete median longitudinal sulcus; sternites 4–20 with lateral sutures (Fig. 23); sternite 23 shorter than sternite 22, trapeziform, with posterior margin straight. Coxopleuron covered almost entirely by pore-field, only coxopleural process and a narrow area bordering posterior margin of coxopleuron remaining poreless; coxopleural processes shorter than sternite 23.
Dorsal and ventral surface of legs 1–23 with long setae; legs 1–2 and 21–22 without ventral and lateral tibial spurs; legs 3–18 with lateral and ventral tibial spurs (Fig. 24), and legs 19–20 with ventral tibial spurs. Prefemur, femur, and tibia of the ultimate legs flattened laterally (Fig. 25); right prefemur with 5 short ventral spinous processes (Fig. 26) and left prefemur with 4; femur of ultimate legs with 2 short spinous processes; tibia without spinous processes; tibia longer than tarsus 1 (Fig. 27); with tarsus 1 and tarsus 2 (Fig. 28); tarsus 2 with annulations, not well divided (9 pseudo-articles) (Fig. 29), and a well-developed claw-shaped pretarsus.
Remarks on synonymy. Newportia tetraspinae is here considered a junior synonym of N. unguifer because of sharing two characters of the ultimate legs. Both N. unguifer and N. tetraspinae have different numbers of spinous processes in the prefemora, which can be 4 or 5short ventral spinous processes in the right or left legs. The femora have 2 very short ventral spinous processes. The ultimate legs are flattened laterally and pilose, with several strong and thin setae. In addition, some characters shared between N. unguifer and N. tetraspinae, such as paramedian sutures on tergite 1 and shape and size of distal denticle of forcipular trochanteroprefemur, are similar. The paramedian sutures of tergite 1 are complete and cross the anterior transverse suture. The distal denticle of forcipular trochanteroprefemur is very short. The paramedian sutures of tergite 1 and the distal denticle of forcipular trochanteroprefemur were neither described nor illustrated by González-Sponga (1997), but these two characters can be seen in the type material and additional material examined for both species.
description: Published as part of Chagas-Jr, Amazonas, 2018, A review of Newportia species in the subgenus Newportides Chamberlin, 1921 (Scolopendromorpha, Scolopocryptopidae, Newportiinae), pp. 154-170 in Zootaxa 4403 (1) on pages 159-162, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4403.1.9, http://zenodo.org/record/1212069