Geophilus carpophagus Leach, 1815

Zapparoli, Marzio & Iorio, Etienne, 2012, The centipedes (Chilopoda) of Corsica: catalogue of species with faunistic, zoogeographical and ecological remarks, International Journal of Myriapodology 7, pp. 15-68 : 34-35

27. Geophilus carpophagus Leach, 1815 sensu latu

Geophilus carpophagus Leach: Léger and Duboscq 1903: 313. (1)

Geophilus carpophagus Leach: Verhoeff 1925a: 655. (2)

Geophilus carpophagus Leach: Verhoeff 1926: 271. (3)

Geophilus carpophagus Leach: Attems 1929: 163, fig. 169. (4)

Geophilus carpophagus Leach, 1814: Brölemann 1930: 155, figs 226-232. (5)

Geophilus carpophagus Leach: Verhoeff 1943: 11, fig. 4. (6)

Geophilus carpophagus Leach, 1815: Minelli 1978: 157. (7)

Geophilus carpophagus Leach, 1814: Demange 1981: 231. (8)

Geophilus carpophagus Leach, 1815: Foddai et al. 1996: 361, Tab. I. (9)

Geophilus carpophagus Leach, 1814 [sic]: Iorio 2004a: 32. (10)

Geophilus carpophagus Leach, 1815: Geoffroy and Iorio 2009: 685. (11)

Literature records.

General. Sardinia-Corsica (7). Corsica (2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11). Epigeic. Corse-du-Sud, 2A - Piana (3) [II]. Haute-Corse, 2B - Corte, Lac de Melo, 1711 m, hygrophilous meadow around the lake (10) [IV]. Vizzavona (1, 6) [III].

Material examined.

Epigeic. Corse-du-Sud, 2A - Ajaccio, Sagone/Vico, above Col de Sevi, 1500 m, (code 74-5): 27.IX.1974, KT, 1 ♂ 55 lp, body length 30 mm, 2 ♀♀ 57 lp, body length 39, 42 mm, 2 imm. 57 lp MZ det. (NHMW) [III]. Haute-Corse, 2B - Asco River valley, 1000 m: 6.VIII.1997, MZ, 1 ♂ 59 lp, body length 44 mm, 1 ♀ 59 lp, body length 47 mm, MZ det. (CMZ) [II]. Col de Vergiu, eastern slope, 1150 m: 15.IV.2004, MZ, 3 ♂♂ all 55 lp, body length 43, 44, 47 mm, MZ det. (CMZ) [III]. Corte, Col de Vizzavona, Fagus sylvatica wood, 1160-1480 m(code 74-13): 1.X.1974, KT, 2 ♀♀ 55, 57 lp, body length 36, 43 mm, MZ det. (NHMW) [III]. Corte, Col de Vizzavona, approx 1100 m, (code 74-17): 3.X.1974, KT, 1 ♂ 53 lp, body length 31 mm, MZ det. (NHMW) [III]. Corte, Restonica Valley, Pinus laricio wood,950-1000 m: 15.IV.2004, MZ, 1 ♀ 59 lp, body length 48 mm, MZ det. (CMZ) [II]. Vizzavona, Fagus sylvatica wood, 1600 m: 21.IV.1991, RA, 1 ex MZ det. (CMZ) [III].

Ecological notes.

950-1711 m; recorded from Supramediterranean to Alpine belts, in Fagus sylvatica woods (2 sites), in Pinus laricio woods (1 site) and montane hygrophilous meadows (1 site). See Iorio (2004a).

Remarks.

According to recent studies (see Bonato and Minelli 2011 and references included), Geophilus carpophagus belongs to a group of closely related Western Palaearctic species of Geophilus , namely the carpophagus species-complex. The overall range of the complex includes Middle and Near East, most part of Europe, Maghreb and Macaronesia. In practice, only three species have been clearly distin guished, Geophilus carpophagus s. str., Geophilus easoni Arthur, Foddai, Kettle, Lewis, Luczynsky and Minelli, 2001, both from Great Britain, and Geophilus arenarius Meinert, 1870, from Algeria ( Bonato and Minelli 2011); populations assigned to Geophilus carpophagus s. str. have been recorded also in southern France (Alpes Maritimes: Iorio 2008; Provence: Iorio and Berg 2007). Without a complete revision of the remaining European and Mediterranean populations of the complex, the taxonomic identity of the Corsican populations can not be stated with confidence; therefore, all the previous records and the material herein examined are referred to Geophilus carpophagus in the wider sense.

The main characters of adult specimens examined here (6 ♂♂, 6 ♀♀), apparently belonging to the same taxon, are summarised as follows according to Bonato and Minelli (2011: table 1). Maximum body length: 48 mm; head transverse suture: distinct; length/width of antennal article V: 1.0-1.4 (mean = 1.13, SD = 0.15); tubercles of labrum intermediate part (3 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀): most often elongate, pointed, opaque; number of bristles of labrum lateral part (3 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀): 8-9 one ♂ from Col de Vergiu, 13-17; width/length of exposed part of forcipular coxosternite: 1.4-1.7 (mean = 1.55, SD = 0.09); basal denticle of forcipular tarsungulum: generally absent, a shallow bulge in 2 ♀♀; colour after preservation in ethanol of leg-bearing trunk: yellowish-grey or light-brownish; number of leg-bearing segments in ♀ (mode and range of variation): 57 (55-59); number of leg-bearing segments in ♂ (mode and range of variation): 55 (53-59); carpophagus pits: distinct; number of coxal pores on coxopleuron: 4-6.