Scolopendra

Simaiakis, Stylianos & Mylonas, Moisis, 2008, The Scolopendra species (Chilopoda: Scolopendromorpha: Scolopendridae) of Greece (E-Mediterranean): a theoretical approach on the effect of geography and palaeogeography on their distribution, Zootaxa 1792, pp. 39-53 : 40

The genus Scolopendra

Species of Scolopendra Linnaeus, 1758 live in all tropical and warm temperate areas (Europe, Asia, north, central and south America, Africa, Australia) ( Lewis 1981). With reference to the case of the North America Scolopendra fauna, there are significant modern studies emphasizing systematics and the role of humans in the distribution of certain species ( Shelley, 2002, 2006; Shelley et al., 2005). Regarding the Mediterranean region, there are nine species ( Kraepelin 1903; Attems 1930; Lewis 1985, 1996, 2001; Lewis & Gallagher 1993; Negrea 1997; Zapparoli 2002) distributed over the area (Figure 1). Four of these, namely S. mirabilis (Porat, 1876) , S. morsitans Linnaeus, 1758 , S. oraniensis H. Lucas, 1846 and S. valida Lucas, 1840 , are absent from Greece. In Greece, the genus is split into two taxonomic clades ( Zapparoli 2002), the well-known Scolopendra canidens group ( Würmli 1978, 1980) ( Figure 2A ) and S. cingulata Latreille, 1829 ( Figure 2 B). The group of centipedes described as Scolopendra canidens comprises a complex of five species ( S. canidens Newport, 1844 , S. clavipes C. L. Koch, 1847 , S. cretica Lucas, 1853 and S. dalmatica C. L. Koch, 1847 and S. oraniensis H. Lucas, 1846 ), of which the taxonomical status was quite unclear for a long period. Until 1980 the taxonomy of Scolopendra was based on morphological data from the viewpoint of traditional taxonomy. At the beginning of 1980, Würmli (1980) produced a complete as possible taxonomic revision of the canidens species, examining thousands of specimens and identifying 21 qualitative and quantitative morphological characters. Apart from this study, there is no modern approach on the subject and many questions about the geographic distribution and the origin of Scolopendra species remain unanswered.

Here, we indicate that historical biogeography could explain the occurrence of the Scolopendra species in the continental and insular Greece. We believe that S. cingulata has the characteristics of an invader (colonizer), thus responding to the dispersalist paradigm, whereas the complex of species of the canidens group have distribution patterns that would better be explained by vicariance events. We present data for the distribution and biogeographical patterns of the Scolopendra species occurring in Greece. We propose several dispersal routes based on the complex geography and palaeogeography of the mainland and insular Greece and we estimate the time of intrusion of several Scolopendra species in Greece.

Figures

FIGURE 2. A) The distribution of species of the canidens group in Greece according to Zapparoli (2002). Black circles: S. clavipes, asterisks: S. cretica, black triangles: S. dalmatica, black arrows: S. canidens (the southern black arrow indicates an uncertain data from Gavdos Is.), B) The distribution of Scolopendra cingulata in Greece according to Zapparoli (2002). Black arrows indicate data from the Aegean Islands whereas black circles indicate data from mainland Greece and Ionian Islands.