Schendyla cf. carniolensis Verhoeff, 1902

Chipman, Ariel D., Dor, Neta & Bonato, Lucio, 2013, Diversity and biogeography of Israeli geophilomorph centipedes (Chilopoda: Geophilomorpha), Zootaxa 3652 (2), pp. 232-248 : 243-244

Schendyla cf. carniolensis Verhoeff, 1902

Published records: none.

New records: Ezuz (2 specimens 2011).

Distribution in Israel: the single site is from a region with extreme arid conditions ( Figure 4 B).

Global distribution: S. carniolensis is known mainly from the Alps and the Balkan peninsula.

Taxonomic and nomenclatural notes. Among the known species in the genus Schendyla Bergsøe & Meinert, 1866 , the specimens examined agree with S. carniolensis in the main diagnostic characters, including features of the pretarsus of the second maxillae, number of trunk segments, presence of pore-fields, and relative elongation of the articles of the ultimate legs. However, the record from Israel is well disjunct from the known range of S. carniolensis , so the true identity of the species occurring in Israel remains unclear.

Schendyla sp.

Published records: “Chuldah bei Jaffa” [Hulda, near Jaffa] (Verhoeff 1925, sub. S. walachica ).

New records: none.

Distribution in Israel: known only from a single poorly defined locality (not mapped).

Taxonomic and nomenclatural notes. The specimen reported by Verhoeff (1925) was identified by him as S. walachica Verhoeff, 1900 . However, this identification can be confidently rejected because the number of legs reported by Verhoeff (43 pairs) is out of the range of variation known for S. walachica (33–37 pairs; Verhoeff 1900; Brölemann & Ribaut 1912; Matic 1972). In the same way, the number of legs of Verhoeff’s specimen is significantly different also from the numbers of the specimens of S. cf. carniolensis examined by us (53–55 pairs). Pending the examination of other specimens, it is currently impossible to guess the true identity of the species.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Collection maps for rarely collected species (one or two localities). A) Mediterranean and montane species. B) Desert species.