A new cave-dwelling centipede species from Croatia (Chilopoda: Lithobiomorpha: Lithobiidae)

Abstract

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The overview of lithobiomorph centipedes (Chilopoda, Lithobiomorpha) from caves of Slovenia

“…Their potential presence was detected among the examined individuals in our study and was also reported in literature (Zagmajster et al 2021). This is expected as there have been descriptions of new species from the Dinaric caves in recent time (Stoev et al 2015;Akkari et al 2017;Stojanović et al 2021) and cryptic diversity is a common problem in many centipede groups (Spelda et al 2011;Del Latte et al 2015;Kuralt et al 2022;Peretti et al 2022).…”

“…This might be due to its rarity, our inability to sample its main habitat, small size or lack of targeted sampling. The species is morphologically well separated from other species (Stojanović et al 2021), however further findings on this elusive and presumably highly endemic species are needed to better understand its taxonomic position.…”

“…Lithobius zveri (Matic & Stenzer, 1977) Planinska jama (Matic and Stentzer 1977), Slovenia, in caves (Stojanović et al 2021) Figure 2. Recorded localities of the surface lithobiomorph centipede species from Slovenian caves.…”

“…In temperate regions, where they reach very high species richness, centipedes inhabit various habitats, including forest litter, soil, human buildings and caves, with humidity being the crucial factor influencing their occurrence Voigtländer 2011). Even though centipedes have regularly been found in caves all over the world, only a small share of them are presumed to be troglobitic (e.g., Edgecombe 2005; Chagas-Jr and Bichuette 2018; Edgecombe et al 2020;Stojanović et al 2021). The interest for the centipedes in caves has a rich history where the first subterranean centipedes were described in France (e.g., Lithobius coquerellii Lucas, 1860, Lithobius cavernicolus Fanzago, 1877 and Lithobius speluncarum Fanzago, 1877), but reports on their occurrence date even earlier.…”