Eurygeophilus multistiliger ( Verhoeff, 1899 )

Simaiakis, Stylianos Michail, Akkari, Nesrine & Zapparoli, Marzio, 2016, The centipedes of Peloponnisos and first records of genus Eurygeophilus in the East Mediterranean (Myriapoda: Chilopoda), Zootaxa 4061 (4), pp. 301-346 : 336-339

42. Eurygeophilus multistiliger ( Verhoeff, 1899)

General distribution. Europe: Portugal, Sardinia, Spain (Bonato et al. 2006; Minelli et al. 2006).

Chorotype. Mediterranean (MED).

New records from Mt. Parnonas ( Fig. 13 ). 2 exx., Arkadia, Moni Panagias Malevis (loc. 11), 880 m, N37.328907 / E22.572301, 27 Oct. 2014; 1 ex., Arkadia, Mavrovouni, mountain plateau west of Sitaina (loc. 25), 1330 m, N37.300473 / E22.615434, 30 Oct. 2014.

Ecological notes. 880–1330 m; collected in two mounainous grasslands in the North side of Mount Parnonas.

Remarks. The genus Eurygeophilus (body length 20–40 mm, 33–57 pairs of legs) has a stout body at both anterior and posterior ends, with a very short forcipular segment, and forcipules with needle-like tarsungula ( Bonato 2011: 418). Sternites have ventral pores arranged in a transverse band. The genus was hitherto known only from Western Europe with two described species, i.e. Eurygeophilus multistiliger ( Verhoeff, 1899) and E. pinguis (Brölemann, 1898) ( Bonato 2011: 418) .

The material examined here agrees with the description of E. multistiliger as provided by Bonato et al. (2006). We examined in detail three individuals collected in Mt. Parnonas, a female (33 mm long) found on the mountain plateau west of Sitaina (loc. 25), 1330 m, 30 Oct. 2014, a male (22 mm long) and a female (13 mm long), both collected in Moni Malevis (loc. 11), 880 m, 27 Oct. 2014. The morphology of the specimens agrees with the following typical characters of the species as described by Bonato et al. (2006):

(1) Variation in the leg-bearing segment number (females with 51 and 55, male with 51) is similar with the variation found in two females from Sardinia and western Iberian Peninsula.

(2) Presence of well visible apical sensilla of the antenna ( Fig. 14 a).

(3) Forcipular coxosternite apparently wider than long; coxopleural sutures distinctly diverging forwards throughout their length, and forcipules with no denticles ( Fig. 14 b).

(4) Head distinctly wider than long ( Fig. 14 c).

(5) Coxopleuron with7 ventral pores opening separately, close to margin of metasternite, similar to the revised description of the species ( Fig. 14 d).

(6) Ultimate pair of legs distinctly swollen with additional dense setae on the ventral side in the male, but slender without additional setae in the females, and the claw is present with curved, pointed claw ( Fig. 14 d).

(7) Coxopleuron with dorsal pores along the internal margins of the metatergite ( Fig. 14 e).

(8) Sternites with short swollen setae ( Fig. 14 f–i).

(9) Ventral pores from leg-bearing segment 1 to penultimate arranged in transverse narrow bands close to the posterior margin of the metasternites ( Fig. 14 f–i).

Figures

FIGURE 13. Clinopodes flavidus (black circles), C. trebevicensis (blue circles) and Eurygeophilus multistiliger (red arrows), distribution records in Peloponnisos.

FIGURE 14. Eurygeophilus multistiliger (Verhoeff, 1899), female found on mountain plateau west of Sitaina (loc. 25), 1330 m, 30 Oct. 2014 (see Fig. 13). (a) Distal three articles of the right antenna; (b) Forcipular segment, ventral view; (c) Head, first articles of the antennae, and forcipular segment, dorsal view; (d) Coxopleuron and sternite of ultimate leg-bearing segment, ventral view; (e) Coxopleuron and tergite of ultimate leg-bearing segment, dorsal view; (f) sternites of leg-bearing segment I, II, and III; (g) sternite of leg-bearing segment V; (h) sternite of leg-bearing segment XII; (i) sternites of leg-bearing segment XX – XXV.