Gen. 1. LITHOBIUS, Leach.
Antennæ multiarticulatæ. Caput latum, complanatum. Labium antice denticulatum, medium sulcatum, emarginatum. Coxarum excavationes magnæ, ovatæ, in serie unica in facie depressa dispositæ. (Fig. 6.)
Antenna multiarticulate. Head broad, complanate. Labium anteriorly denticulate, medianly sulcate, emarginate. Pits on the coxa large, ovate, arranged in a single series on a depressed face.
L. Americanus.
"L. ferrugineus; capite magno subquadrato margine postico elevato; antennis pubescentibus; ocellis nigris
Fig. 6. utrinque 25—26; labio complanato, polito, margine fere recto; denticulis 10, parvis, nigris, subapproximatis, scutis lævibus, convexis, subquadratis postice rectis; segmento præanali piloso, pedibus validis flavis spinis validis armatis."
Fig. 6
Ferruginous; head large, subquadrate with the posterior margin elevated; antenna pubescent; ocelli black, on each side 25—26; labium complanate, smooth, its margin almost straight; denticules 10, small, black, subapproximate; scuta smooth, convex, subquadrate posteriorly straight; preanal segment pilose, feet robust, yellow, armed with strong spines.
| L. americanus, Newport, Linn. Trans, xix, p. 305; Catalogue of British Museum (Myriapoda), p. 17. "" P. Gervais, Apteres, iv, p. 236; et Tabl. des Myriap. (Exp. Amerique du Sud), p. 29. |
When I wrote my paper on the North American Chilopoda, I had not a large mass of material at my disposal, and fell into error in my identification of Mr. Newport's species. The characters which he relies on in separating his L. multidentatus and americanus vary so much in the two species that the extremes meet, and hence my mistake. The average number of ocelli is greater in B. multidentatus, but individuals occur of L. americanus with 33 ocelli, thus coming within the number assigned to multidentatus by Mr. Newport. The diagnosis of the species given above is that of Mr. Newport. The number of ocelli and labial teeth are too small. I would say, ocelli utrinque 26—33, denticulis 10—15. The head and scuta are distinctly but rather sparsely punctate. The alternate small scuta are proportionally very large. The scuta are quadrate or subquadrate. The posterior margins of the larger ones are straight, and the angles not prolonged, except in the last two or three, in which the posterior margin is somewhat crescentic. The angles of the lesser scuta are more prolonged than those of the others. The dorsal surface is not so
