A new species of Ribautia Brölemann, 1909 (Chilopoda: Geophilomorpha: Geophilidae) from Peruvian Amazonia, with a key to the Neotropical species of the genus with coxal organs grouped in clusters

Abstract

Ribautia williamsi sp. nov., a new dwarf geophilomorph centipede from the Lower Urubamba Region, Peruvian Amazonia, is described and illustrated based on the holotype female. The new species is characterized by having the coxal organs grouped in clusters (three of these in each coxopleuron of the ultimate leg-bearing segment) and ventral pore-fields present along all the body; these two combined traits being shared by five other Neotropical species currently included in the genus Ribautia Brölemann, 1909, i.e. R. centralis (Silvestri, 1907) (from Colombia and Brazil), R. difficilis Pereira, Minelli & Barbieri, 1995 (from Brazil), R. montana Kraus, 1954 (from Peru), R. peruana (Verhoeff, 1941) (from Peru), and R. titicacae (Turk, 1955) (from Peru). The new taxon is differentiated from the aforementioned species by the low number of leg-bearing segments and small body length; it is included in a key which will enable the identification of all known Neotropical members having coxal organs grouped in clusters. R. williamsi sp. nov. is the 14th species of Ribautia recorded from Peru.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:D9FA5FAF-7652-4A5B-AC09-8783F05A694D

Keywords:

• Chilopoda
• Geophilomorpha
• Geophilidae
• Ribautia
• dwarf new species
• Peru
• Neotropical region

Acknowledgments

I am indebted to Jorge D. Williams of the Museo de La Plata for access to relevant material collected by himself in Peru. Pluspetrol Perú Corporation S. A. and ERM Perú S. A. financed fieldwork to the collector in Peru. Two anonymous referees and the editor, Anne Zillikens (Universität Tübingen) contributed with careful reviews which helped to improve the final version of the manuscript. Hernán L. Pereira and José L. Pereira (La Plata) helped in digitizing and editing the figures.