Strigamia carniolensis (Verhoeff, 1895)

Bonato, Lucio, Bortolin, Francesca, Zen, Giada De, Decker, Peter, Lindner, E. Norman, Orlando, Marco, Spelda, Jörg & Wesener, Karin Voigtländer and Thomas, 2023, Towards elucidating species diversity of European inland Strigamia (Chilopoda: Geophilomorpha): a first reassessment integrating multiple lines of evidence, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 199 (4), pp. 945-966 : 957

Strigamia carniolensis (Verhoeff, 1895) species complex

Diagnosis of adult individuals: Usually ≤ 3–6 cm long; clypeal setae usually uniformly spaced in a continuous row, rarely with two recognizable gaps between intermediate and lateral groups of setae; forcipular tergite usually 35–50% of the head length; forcipules relatively broad and liưle separated from each other (distance between the basal condyles <1.8 times the basal width of the forcipules); forcipular tibia usually with a distinct projection; tarsungulum liưle elongate (on average 70% of the distance between the basal forcipular condyles, rarely> 75%), with the outlines of the intermediate part (i.e, basal part of the ungulum) fully converging; forcipular denticle relatively long (usually 55–65% of the length of the tarsungulum, on average 60%) and its outlines usually distinctly curved; 45–57 leg pairs, oħen 49–51 in females and oħen 47–49 in males; metasternites of the anterior one-third of the trunk with a distinct mid-longitudinal sclerotized stripe; each coxopleuron with many coxal pores in proportion to body size, i.e. usually no fewer than 25 pores in individuals> 25 mm, and up to more than 50 pores in longer individuals; coxal pores relatively small in proportion to body size, diameter of the largest pore usually <4% of the head width, and usually distinctly narrower than their canals.

Geographical range: Within the study area, species of the S. carniolensis complex are widespread, at least along the southern part of the Alps and the entire Apennines, southwards to the Aspromonte Massif ( Fig. 7 ). North of the Alps, they also occur along the Rhine Valley, northwards to the Rhenish Massif ( Fig. 7 ). They are missing from Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily.

Outside the study area, the distribution of species of the S. carniolensis complex needs deep revision, because of the broad variation of taxonomic opinions and nomenclature used by different authors (see below, under Discussion; Supporting Information, Appendix). Most published records cannot be interpreted confidently as referring to either the S. carniolensis complex or the S. crassipes complex. Those that can be assigned confidently to the S. carniolensis complex indicate that species of this complex inhabit a broad area in Western and Southern Europe: westwards to the north-western part of the Iberian Peninsula ( Gregory and Lewis 2015, Cabanillas 2019, both sub S. crassipes ; see below, under Discussion; Supporting Information, Appendix); northwards at least to the northernmost part of France ( Iorio 2014, sub S. crassipes ); eastwards at least to the western coasts of the Black Sea ( Matic 1972, sub S. crassipes ); southwards at least to the Rhodopes in the Balkan Peninsula ( Kaczmarek 1969, Stoev 2002, both sub S. crassipes ), the entire Italian Peninsula, and the central part of the Iberian Peninsula ( Cabanillas 2020, sub S. crassipes ). Other published records from other areas need confirmation.

Candidate species: Evidence of multiple species is weak.

Figures

Figure 7. Geographical distribution of the Strigamia carniolensis species complex and the species Strigamia engadina within the study area, based on direct examination of specimens and critically revised published records.