Rediscovery and redescription of the centipede Paracryptops inexpectus Chamberlin, 1914, with an account of the genus (Scolopendromorpha: Cryptopidae: Cryptopinae)

Abstract

Paracryptops inexpectus Chamberlin, 1914, known only from the holotype that was discovered in a potted plant from Guyana during quarantine inspection in Washington, DC, USA, is redescribed and illustrated based in part on two newly discovered specimens from Dominica, Lesser Antilles. A generic account is also presented along with a brief literature review. The species is the only generic representative in the Western Hemisphere; the other four species occur in southern/southeast Asia and the East Indies, as depicted in a distribution map. This pattern suggests that the New World occurrences of P. inexpectus result from human introductions, and that it is really an Asian species. As representatives of Paracryptops Pocock, 1891, have twice been intercepted in quarantines, another was discovered under flower pots in a plant nursery, and five others were taken in urban environments where allochthonous species typically predominate, these centipedes seem particularly amenable to transport and introduction through human agency. With few anatomical distinctions between them, P. inexpectus may be a junior synonym of P. weberi Pocock, 1891.