Family JAPYGIDAE

Notojapyx tillyardi

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Introduction

Twelve species are known from Australia. Condé & Pagés (1991) stated that the Australian japygids are too poorly known to permit a correct generic assignment of all species. They consider that the monotypic Japygianus is the most distinctive; that Notojapyx, which is endemic to Australia, is relatively well characterised; and that some of the remaining species may belong in Indjapyx but certainly none in Burmjapyx or Teljapyx, as defined by Silvestri (1947).

Australian members of this family are 5–28 mm in length; cerci are reduced to a pair of strong, 1-segmented, pigmented forceps; the thorax has four pairs of spiracles and the abdomen seven pairs; and the antennae have trichobothria on segments 4–6 only.

The spelling of this family name has caused considerable confusion. The family was erected originally by Haliday (1864) based on Iapyx solifugus Haliday. Many subsequent authors, however, have used the emended name Japyx and its derivatives. Pagés (1959) used the emended form but inadvertently attributed the family to Lubbock (1873). Paclt (1951, 1952) discussed the orthography of scientific names and considered that it was not posssible to use Japyx instead of Iapyx. In his checklist of the world fauna, Paclt (1957) used the original spelling. Reddell (1985) agreed with Paclt, considered that Japyx was an unjustified emendation and used the original spelling Iapyx. The emended spelling is followed here in order to maintain nomenclatural stability, but a case needs to be made to the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature to rule on the use of these names.

General References

Condé, B. & Pagés, J. 1991. Diplura. pp. 269-271 in CSIRO (ed.). The Insects of Australia. A textbook for students and research workers. Melbourne : Melbourne University Press Vol. 1 xiii 542 pp.

Haliday, A.H. 1864. Iapyx, a new genus of insects belonging to the stirps Thysanura, in the order Neuroptera. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London 24: 441-447

Lubbock, J. 1873. Monograph of the Collembola and Thysanura. London : Ray Society 8 Vols 267 pp. 78 pls.

Paclt, J. 1951. Concerning orthography of Scientific names. Science (Washington, D.C.) 114: 63-64

Paclt, J. 1952. Über die Behandlung der diakritischen Zeichen. Senckenbergiana Biologica 33: 357-361

Paclt, J. 1957. Diplura. Genera Insectorum 212: 1-123

Pagés, J. 1959. Remarques sur la classification des Diploures. Travaux du Laboratoire de Zoologie et de la Station Aquicole Grimaldi de la Faculté des Sciences de Dijon 26: 1-25 figs 1-2

Reddell, J.R. 1985. A checklist and bibliography of the Iapygoidea (Insecta: Diplura) of South America. Texas Mem. Mus., Pearce-Sellards Series, No. 42. 34 pp.

Silvestri, F. 1947. On some Japygidae in the Museum of Comparative Zoology (Dicellura). Psyche (Cambridge) Camb. 54: 209-229

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