The Centipede-fauna of the Tokyo District

[摘要] Cited-By(2)The Myriapod is a group of animals which specimens have not been colle-cted throughout Japan, consequently, a thorough investigation has not been made even in Tokyo, the largest city of Japan, and its neighbourhood. Its fauna in Tokyo was only vaguely known. We give here the outline of the Myriapod fauna hitherto known from the Tokyo district but confining ourselves to the group of centipedes or Chilopoda, hoping that it would facilitate the future study. Based on specimens collected by the junior author and published records made chiefly by Dr. Takakuwa, we are able to classiafy the centipedes of Tokyo into nine families, 16 genera and 27 species, and supplying a key to each species. Of those species most have wide ranges within Japan while some others are southern elements. Lithobius (Eulithobius) sp., its species is not determinable, collected at Minato-ku by the junior author is the first exa-mple, from Japan being the first record of the subgenus Eulithobius. Zoogeographically speaking the so-called Sonthern Coast Line of Honshu, one of the outstanding faunal boundary within Japan supposed to passthrough the southern edge of Tokyo, but because genera such as Thereuopoda, Thalthy-bins and Mecistocephalus formerly believed to have occurred only south of this line are now known to exist within the Tokyo district, it is probably right to consider that this district may be included within the region south of the Southern Coast Line of Honshu: the line should be shifted northward. We hope to discuss the relationship between the centipedes and this faunar line more fully in the future.

[学科分类] 动物科学