Lithobiidae

Langor, David W. & Langor, Stephen D., 2022, The biota of Canada: checklist of the centipedes of Canada (Myriapoda: Chilopoda), The Canadian Entomologist (e 8) 154 (1), pp. 1-12 : 8-10

Family Lithobiidae

Alaskobius adlatus Chamberlin. This native species was listed from Alaska but not from Canada by Behan-Pelletier (1993). However , there is a specimen in the Canadian National Collection of Insects , Arachnids , and Nematodes from Reindeer Station , Northwest Territories collected by J.R. Vockeroth on 22 June 1948 (accession number CNC 627302 ) and was later identified by Ralph Crabill according to the determination label. This represents a new Canadian record.

Bothropolys columbiensis Chamberlin. The holotype from Kaslo , British Columbia represents the only known record for this species ( Mercurio 2010).

Bothropolys ethus Chamberlin. Behan-Pelletier (1993) listed this native species from British Columbia, but Mercurio (2010) lists it from only Alaska. The location of the British Columbia material is unknown. This record should be considered questionable until the Canadian material is located and re-examined.

Bothropolys hoples (Brölemann) . This native species is distributed throughout the Pacific Northwest, and Chamberlin (1925a) recorded it from Kaslo, British Columbia.

Bothropolys multidentatus (Newport). Kevan (1979) considered this species to be adventive; however, it is most likely native ( Mercurio 2010). It is distributed throughout the eastern half of the United States of America ( Mercurio 2010) and from Ontario and New Brunswick ( Kevan 1983).

Bothropolys victorianus Chamberlin. The holotype of this native species is from Victoria, British Columbia ( Chamberlin 1925b). The species is also found in Alaska and Oregon, United States of America ( Mercurio 2010).

Ethopolys californicus (Daday) . Kevan (1983) reported this native species from British Columbia as Ethopolys sierravagus (Chamberlin) , which is now a junior synonym. The species is distributed from California to Washington in the United States of America ( Mercurio 2010).

Ethopolys spectans Chamberlin. This native species was described from Spectacle Lake, Vancouver Island, British Columbia and is still known only from the type material, which is stored in the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., United States of America ( Mercurio 2010). Kevan (1983) reported a putative new species similar to E. spectans , but because there is no species description or any authoritative taxonomic treatment, the putative new species is not recognised as valid.

Garibius undetermined species. Palmén (1954) reported a Lithobius species from Newfoundland and suggested it may belong to Garibius . The farthest north that Garibius has been recorded is Massachusetts and New York state, United States of America ( G. opicolens Chamberlin ; Mercurio 2010), so Newfoundland would be a considerable range extension for this genus. For now, this record is maintained, but the material (1 male; University of Helsinki Museum of Zoology, Helsinki, Finland) should be re-examined to ascertain if it is indeed Garibius .

Lithobius (Lithobius) forficatus (Linnaeus) . This Palaearctic species was first reported from Canada (undisclosed localities) by Brodie and White (1883). Chamberlin (1925b) recorded it from Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Québec. Herein, we record it for the first time from New Brunswick (Shediac, 5.ix.1926, F. Johansen, 1 specimen, accession number CNC 627304) and Prince Edward Island (Tyne Valley, 13.ix.1926, F. Johansen, 1 specimen, accession number CNC 627305), based on specimens in the Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids, and Nematodes. The species is also present on the islands of St. Pierre et Miquelon, France ( Palmén 1954).

Lithobius (Lithobius) melanops Newport. In Canada, this Palaearctic species is known only from two localities in southeastern Newfoundland, where specimens were collected in 1949 ( Palmén 1954).

Lithobius (Sigibius) microps Meinert. This Palaearctic species was previously reported from Canada under the synonyms Lithobius duboscqui Brölemann and Sigibius puritanus Chamberlin. The earliest record for Canada was from Québec ( Chamberlin 1920). Judd (1964) first reported the species from Ontario. In Newfoundland, it was recorded from several localities in the southeastern part of the island ( Palmén 1954).

Nadabius aristeus Chamberlin. Crabill (1952) recorded this species from Ontario, but this record was overlooked in later lists of species in Canada (e.g., Kevan 1979, 1983; Behan-Pelletier 1993).

Nadabius eigenmanni (Bollman) . A syntype of this native species is from Glacier, British Columbia ( Mercurio 2010). Matthews (1935) was of the opinion that this species is synonymous with N. jowensis (Meinert) but did not formalise the synonymy as the opinion resides solely in a Ph.D. thesis. Thus, N. eigenmanni is considered a valid species pending further examination.

Nadabius jowensis (Meinert) . This native species was first recorded from Canada (Rondeau Park, Ontario) by Judd (1957), who reported it being eaten by a salamander. Because the material was seemingly destroyed and is no longer available for study, and because no further records of this species are known from Canada, this record must be considered questionable. This species is sometimes mistakenly reported as Nadabius “ iowensis ” in the literature.

Nampabius lundii (Meinert) . Crabill (1952) recorded this native species from Canada (Ontario), but the record was overlooked in later lists of species in Canada (e.g., Kevan 1979, 1983; Behan-Pelletier 1993).

Oabius undetermined species. Kevan (1983) recorded an undetermined Oabius species from the Northwest Territories. This might be Oabius alaskanus Chamberlin , which was recorded from Haines, Alaska ( Mercurio 2010), but this has yet to be confirmed.

Paobius albertanus Chamberlin. This species was described from Alberta (likely Banff), but there is some confusion about the location of the holotype; the National Museum of Natural History (Washington, D.C.) and Museum of Comparative Zoology (Cambridge, Massachusetts) each have a specimen with a holotype designation, both collected at the same place and time ( Mercurio 2010). Mercurio (2010) comments that this native species is likely synonymous with Paobius columbiensis Chamberlin. The only recorded locality for P. albertanus is the type locality.

Paobius columbiensis Chamberlin. This species is known only from the type locality, Kaslo , British Columbia ( Mercurio 2010).

Paobius orophilus Chamberlin. This species is known only from the type locality, Kaslo , British Columbia ( Mercurio 2010).

Pokabius eremus Chamberlin. This species is known only from the type locality, Kaslo , British Columbia ( Mercurio 2010).

Simobius ginampus (Chamberlin) . This species was first reported from Canada (British Columbia) by Kevan (1983), and no further Canadian records are known.

Sonibius lindrothi (Palmén) . This native species was described as Lithobius lindrothi Palmén from Newfoundland, where it was found in several localities on the west coast ( Palmén 1954), and is still known only from there. Palmén (1954) expressed some uncertainty about whether this species was indeed new or conspecific with Sonibius politus (McNeill) . He did not compare the specimens to type material but relied on comparison to a published description by Chamberlin. The Newfoundland specimens should be compared to the syntype (s) of S. politus .

Sonibius politus (McNeill in Bollman). This species was first reported from Canada (Ontario and Québec) by Chamberlin (1920) .

Zygethopolys pugetensis tiganus Chamberlin and Wang. This subspecies is known only from the type locality of Vancouver , British Columbia, where it was collected in 1933 ( Mercurio 2010).

ORDER SCOLOPENDROMORPHA

Family Cryptopidae

Cryptops anomalans Newport. This Palaearctic species was reported by Kevan (1983) from southern Ontario and Québec, where it was said to occur in greenhouses. However, Kevan (1983) admits that this species could have been confused with Cryptops hortensis (Donovan) . Shelley (2002) states that he has never seen specimens from North America. It is unknown where the specimens putatively collected from Canada reside. This record is considered tentative until the material is located and re-examined.

Cryptops hortensis (Donovan) . This Palaearctic species is known from scattered locations across North America ( Shelley 2002). The Canadian record is based on one specimen collected from a greenhouse in Chilliwack, British Columbia in 1948 ( Shelley 2002), which is hardly convincing evidence of establishment. This record is treated as questionable and may simply represent an incidental capture of an imported specimen.

Cryptops parisi Brölemann. Palmén (1954) recorded this Palaearctic species from Newfoundland, based on two specimens found in a winter-warm greenhouse in a market garden in St. John’ s; however, he believed that the species could not become established outdoors in Newfoundland because of the cold climate. The species is not recorded from anywhere else in North America. It seems unlikely that this species has persisted in greenhouses in Newfoundland since 1949. This material should be re-examined in light of current taxonomic knowledge.