Geophilus hadesi

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Geophilus hadesi
Geophilus hadesi - habitus of male specimen (CBSS - CHP515) - Oo 46041.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Myriapoda
Class: Chilopoda
Order: Geophilomorpha
Family: Geophilidae
Genus: Geophilus
Species:
G. hadesi
Binomial name
Geophilus hadesi
Stoev et al., 2015

Geophilus hadesi is a species of soil centipede in the family Geophilidae. [1] [2] This centipede is a troglobite, spending its entire life cycle in a cave environment. This species and Geophilus persephones are the only two troglobites known in the order Geophilomorpha. The species G. hadesi is named after Hades, god of the underworld in Greek mythology and the husband of Persephone, the namesake of the first troglobite discovered among the soil centipedes. The species G. hadesi has been observed in a cave as far as 1,100 meters below the surface, the deepest underground that any centipede has ever been recorded. [3]

Contents

Discovery

This species was first described in 2015 by a team of biologists led by the Bulgarian myriapodologist Pavel Stoev of the National Museum of Natural History in Sofia, Bulgaria. The original description of this species is based on three specimens collected by biospeleologists in 2011 from three different caves in the Velebit mountains in Croatia. The first specimen collected, a female holotype, was found 250 meters undergound in the Munižaba cave. The second, a female paratype, was found 500 meters underground in the Muda labudova cave. The third, a male specimen, was found 980 meters underground in the Lukina jama cave, the 15th deepest cave in the world. Another specimen was seen in the same cave at a depth of about 1,100 meters but could not be collected. [3]

Description

Like other soil centipedes, this species is blind, has a flattened body, and is well adapted to life underground. This species also exhibits troglomorphic features (reflecting adaption to life in caves), such as elongated appendages (including long antennae, walking legs, and ultimate legs), as well as elongated trunk segments and unusually long claws on its legs. The female specimens range from about 22 mm in length (in the paratype) to a maximum length of 28 mm (in the holotype); the male specimen measures 27 mm in length. Specimens of both sexes have only 33 pairs of legs. [3]

Two other species in the genus Geophilus resemble G. hadesi most closely: G. persephones and G. piae, which share a number of distinctive traits with G. hadesi. These traits include a modest number of legs: G. persephones has 29 leg pairs (in the only recorded specimen, a male), [4] and G. piae can have as few as 35 pairs in males and 37 pairs in females. [5] All three species also feature sternal pore-fields that extend to the posterior parts of the trunk. [3] Traits shared by these three species also include second maxillae that end in a stout tubercle with a small tip instead of a curved article that tapers gradually. [3] [6] Furthermore, the species G. persephones and G. hadesi also share troglomorphic features, such as long antennae and legs. [3]

The species G. hadesi, however, is larger than either G. persephones, which reaches only 16.2 mm in length, or G. piae, which reaches only 11 mm in length. The other two species may also be distinguished from G. hadesi by the pattern of coxal pores on ventral side of the ultimate legs: In G. hadesi, one pore is isolated in a distinctive position posterior to the other pores. [3]

Related Research Articles

Pachymerium tabacarui is a species of centipede in Geophilidae family that is endemic to Romania. The original description of this species is based on a female specimen from the Carpathians measuring 15 mm in length with 53 pairs of legs. Some authorities consider this description consistent with a juvenile specimen of P. ferrugineum and therefore deem P. tabacarui to be a junior synonym of that species. A more recent review of this description suggests that P. tabacarui is a junior synonym of Geophilus flavus rather than P. ferrugineum. Extensive investigations in the Carpathian region have failed to collect any more specimens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geophilidae</span> Family of centipedes

Geophilidae is a family of soil centipedes in the superfamily Geophiloidea and the order Geophilomorpha. In 2014, a phylogenetic analysis based on morphological and molecular data found this family to be polyphyletic. To avoid this polyphyly, authorities dismissed the families Aphilodontidae, Dignathodontidae, Linotaeniidae, and Macronicophilidae, which are now deemed to be junior synonyms for Geophilidae. Authorities also moved some genera from Geophilidae to form the family Zelanophildae in order to avoid the polyphyly of the family Geophilidae. The family Geophilidae now includes more than 650 species in more than 120 genera. This family has a cosmopolitan distribution, with species found almost worldwide.

<i>Geophilus</i> Genus of centipedes

Geophilus is a large, heterogeneous genus of soil centipedes in the family Geophilidae largely considered to be synonymous with Brachygeophilus. The generic name first appeared in Brewster's Edinburgh Encyclopaedia in 1814 as Geophilus electricus. This genus has a Holarctic distribution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schendylidae</span> Family of centipedes

Schendylidae is a family of soil centipedes in the superfamily Himantarioidea and the order Geophilomorpha. These centipedes are found in the Americas, the Palearctic region, Africa, Madagascar, Australia, and southeast Asia, and also on some Pacific islands. This family was first proposed by the American biologist Orator F. Cook in 1896.

Geophilus persephones is a species of soil centipede in the family Geophilidae discovered in 1999. This species is named after Persephone, the queen of the underworld in Greek mythology, and found in caves in the Gouffre de la Pierre Saint-Martin. It has elongated antennae and legs as well as abundant sensory setae, and like other geophilomorhps it lacks sight, has a flattened trunk, and is well adapted to underground life. This species was the first troglomorphic geophilomorph ever discovered and one of the only two in existence along with Geophilus hadesi. Known from a single male specimen measuring 16.2 mm in length, G. persephones has only 29 pairs of legs, one of only two species in the Geophilidae family to feature so few leg pairs.

Geophilus arenarius is a species of soil centipede in the family Geophilidae. This centipede is found in Algeria. As part of the carpophagus species-complex, this species is closely related to both G. carpophagus and G. easoni.

Geophilus impressus is a species of soil centipede in the family Geophilidae found all over Europe, and has also been recorded in North Africa. It lives frequently in endogean habitats; in Sardinia it's found mostly in Quercus ilex woods, but also in Mediterranean shrub, open habitats, and maquis. It lives anywhere from sea level to 1700 meters above it, sometimes in caves.

Geophilus richardi is a species of soil centipede in the family Geophilidae. This centipede is found in France and Monaco in the Western Alps and on the Italian mainland, Sicily, Sardinia, and the Ionian Islands. This species is notable as one of only two in the family Geophilidae to include centipedes with as few as 29 leg pairs.

Geomerinus is a monotypic genus of centipedes in the family Geophilidae. It was described by French myriapodologist Henry Wilfred Brolemann in 1912. Its sole species is Geomerinus curtipes, originally described as Geophilus curtipes by Erich Haase in 1887. It is endemic to Australia.

Australiophilus ferrugineus is a species of centipede in the Zelanophilidae family. It is endemic to New Zealand. It was first described in 1877 by New Zealand biologist Frederick Hutton. Since then, authorities have recognized two junior synonyms, deeming Geophilus huttoni a synonym in 1936 and Geophilus polyporus a synonym in 2014.

Maoriella is a genus of centipedes in the family Geophilidae. It was described by Austrian myriapodologist Carl Attems in 1903. Species in this genus are found in New Zealand, Australia, and Tahiti.

Maoriella ecdema is a species of centipede in the Geophilidae family. It is endemic to New Zealand. It was first described in 1964 by American zoologist Ralph Crabill.

Nesomerium is a monotypic genus of centipedes in the family Geophilidae. It was described in 1953 by American myriapodologist Ralph Vary Chamberlin. The sole species is Nesomerium hawaiiense Chamberlin, 1953. Since the original description of this species based on a single specimen, no other specimens have been referred to this species or this genus, and some authorities express doubts about the validity of these taxa and their placement in the family Geophilidae.

Geophilus oligopus is a species of soil centipede in the family Geophilidae. This centipede is found in several European countries, including Austria, the Czech Republic, Italy, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovenia, and Romania. Although this centipede has been described as having an Alpine-Dinaric distribution, this species has also been found in the Carpathian mountains and may be more widespread than previously thought.

Dicellophilus carniolensis is a species of soil centipede in the family Mecistocephalidae. This centipede is well known and found in central Europe. This species features 43 pairs of legs, a number rarely found in the family Mecistocephalidae and recorded in only one other genus in this family: In the genus Tygarrup, an undescribed species found in the Andaman Islands also has 43 leg pairs.

Arctogeophilus glacialis is a species of soil centipede in the family Geophildae. This centipede is found in Russia, Alaska, and Canada. This species was first described in 1909 by the Austrian myriapodologist Carl Attems as the type species for the taxon Arctogeophilus, which was originally described as a subgenus of the genus Geophilus but was elevated to the status of genus in 1910 by the French zoologist Henri Ribaut.

Escaryus is a genus of soil centipedes in the family Schendylidae. These centipedes are notable as schendylids adapted to colder temperatures and restricted to cool climates and high latitudes. With more than 30 species, this genus is easily the largest group of such centipedes in the family Schendylidae. Most schendylids are limited to tropical or subtropical regions.

Alloschizotaenia is a genus of soil centipedes in the family Geophilidae. This genus contains only three valid species. Centipedes in this genus are found in central and east Africa.

Arctogeophilus inopinatus is a species of soil centipede in the family Geophildae. This centipede is found in western and central France and may also be present in Luxembourg. This species is small, measuring only 18 mm in length, and can have either 39 or 41 pairs of legs.

Escaryus kirgizicus is a species of soil centipede in the family Schendylidae. As the species name suggests, this centipede is found in Kyrgyzstan. This species is known only from high mountains and is notable for being found at one of the highest altitudes recorded for any centipede in the order Geophilomorpha in Central Asia.

References

  1. ↑ "ITIS - Report: Geophilus hadesi". www.itis.gov. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
  2. ↑ Bonato, L.; Chagas Junior, A.; Edgecombe, G.D.; Lewis, J.G.E.; Minelli, A.; Pereira, L.A.; Shelley, R.M.; Stoev, P.; Zapparoli, M. (2016). "Geophilus hadesi Stoev, Akkari, Komerički, Edgecombe & Bonato, 2015". ChiloBase 2.0 - A World Catalogue of Centipedes (Chilopoda). Retrieved 2024-06-08.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Stoev, Pavel; Akkari, Nesrine; Komericki, Ana; Edgecombe, Gregory; Bonato, Lucio (2015). "At the end of the rope: Geophilus hadesi sp. n. – the world's deepest cave-dwelling centipede (Chilopoda, Geophilomorpha, Geophilidae)". ZooKeys (510): 95–114. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.510.9614 . PMC   4523767 . PMID   26257537.
  4. ↑ Pereira, Luis Alberto (2013-01-01). "Discovery of a second geophilomorph species (Myriapoda: Chilopoda) having twenty-seven leg-bearing segments, the lowest number recorded up to the present in the centipede order Geophilomorpha". Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia. 53 (13): 163–185. doi: 10.1590/S0031-10492013001300001 . hdl: 11336/3449 . ISSN   1807-0205.
  5. ↑ Minelli, Alessandro (1982). "On Sardinian centipedes (Chilopoda)". Bolletino di Zoologia. 49 (1–2): 1–16. doi: 10.1080/11250008209439365 .
  6. ↑ Bonato, Lucio; Edgecombe, Gregory; Lewis, John; Minelli, Alessandro; Pereira, Luis; Shelley, Rowland; Zapparoli, Marzio (2010-11-18). "A common terminology for the external anatomy of centipedes (Chilopoda)". ZooKeys (69): 17–51. Bibcode:2010ZooK...69...17B. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.69.737 . ISSN   1313-2970. PMC   3088443 . PMID   21594038.
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