<I>Narceus woodruffi</I> Causey, a forgotten milliped species (Spirobolida: Spirobolidae)

Abstract

Previous treatments ofthe east-Nearctic spirobolid genus Narceus Rafinesque have overlooked the name, N. woodruffi Causey. The holotype is lost, but examinations of a non-typical male and two paratype and three non-typical females show it to be a valid species, perhaps endemic to north Florida, distinguished by its small size and the configurations of the gonopods and coxal lobes of legs 3-6 in males. Supplemental anatomical notes are presented on the non-typical male along with comparative drawings of the lobes and gonopods of N. woodruffi, N. americanus (Beauvois), and N. annularis (Rafinesque); distributions of species of Narceus in Florida are depicted on a map. Substantial size differences between ostensibly conspecific males of N. americanus in Texas and Arkansas suggest that Narceus may be more complex than the current concept of four species.