Ribautia


Ribautia is a genus of centipedes in the family Geophilidae. This genus was described by French myriapodologist Henry Wilfred Brolemann in 1909. Centipedes in this genus are found in South America, tropical Africa, Madagascar, the Arabian peninsula, Australia, New Zealand, and Melanesia.

Description

Centipedes in this genus feature elongate heads, elongate forcipules, and mandibles with long bristles. The second maxillae are connected by only a narrow bridge in the middle of the coxosternite. This coxosternite features processes projecting from the inner corners of the anterior margins and prominent sclerotized ridges. The forcipular sternite features a pair of narrow sclerotized stripes. Pores arranged in a single field appear on sternites on at least the anterior segments of the trunk.
These centipedes range from about 1 cm to about 7 cm in length and can have as few as 31 or as many as 125 pairs of legs. The small species Ribautia platensis, found in Argentina, measures only 9 mm in length and can have as few as 31 leg pairs, the minimum number recorded in this genus. Other small species of Ribautia with notably few legs include the Peruvian species R. williamsi, the African species R. paucipes, and the Brazilian species R. onycophaena. The large species R. taeniata, found in New Caledonia, can reach 75 mm in length and can have as many as 125 leg pairs, the maximum number recorded in this genus.

Phylogeny

A phylogenetic analysis of the order Geophilomorpha using both molecular data and morphology places a representative of the genus Ribautia in a clade with a sister group formed by representatives of two other genera in the family Geophilidae, Polygonarea and Hyphydrophilus. This phylogenetic tree suggests that these two genera are more closely related to Ribautia than any other genera included in this analysis. These three close relatives form a sister group for a representative of another genus in the same family, Plateurytion, which emerges as the next closest relative included in this analysis. These four close relatives also form a sister group for a representative of another genus in the same family, Steneurytion, which emerges as the next closest relative included in this analysis.

Species

This genus contains more than 50 valid species, including the following:Ribautia aggregata Ribautia brittini Ribautia coarctata Ribaut, 1923Ribautia conifera Ribautia derrana Ribautia dietrichiae Ribautia gracilis Ribaut, 1923Ribautia imparata Ribautia mjoebergi Ribautia onycophaena Pereira, Foddai & Minelli, 2000Ribautia pruvotae Ribautia rainbowi Ribautia repanda Ribautia taeniata Ribaut, 1923