Geophilomorph centipedes and the littoral habitat - Books and ...

26 A.D. Barber / Terrestrial Arthropod Reviews 4 (2011) 17–39
weather induced local migration can sometimes make it surprisingly diffi cult to fi nd
littoral species in apparently suitable sites.
Categories of halophiles
Th ere are clearly and distinctly recognised halophilic species such as the European
Hydroschendyla submarina which are only found on shores below or around high water
line and which will be likely to experience submersion at high tide but species found
on the shore may also include typical “terrestrial” ones that happen also to occur sometimes
on the shore during chance foraging but are not specifi cally associated with it
and this could include a very wide range of types. Th ere are also species that do commonly
occur on the shore and are characteristically found there but also occur inland
such as Pachymerium ferrugineum widespread across Europe and elsewhere but regularly
found in beach shingle or other littoral sites e.g. in Finland (Palmén, 1949 ).
Silvestri ( 1903 ) distinguished these three categories as miriopodi halofi li genuini ,
miriopodi halofi li accidentali and miriopodi halofi li indiff erenti and these remain useful
concepts. Unfortunately there are many species described which, one suspects, could
be littoral but lack detailed habitat data. Th ere are others where there are so few records,
possibly only a single one so that it is impossible to which of Silvestri’s categories the
apparently littoral species might be allocated. Th ere are also animals which appear to
be genuine halophiles in one region but have been found inland elsewhere. Examples
of the latter include Schendyla peyerimhoffi and Schendyla monodi (Brölemann, 1924),
both apparently exclusively halophilic in NW Europe but which have been recorded
inland in Iberia.
Th e range of species and their known geographical distribution
Littoral geophilomorphs, whether genuini , indiff erent i or possibly accidentali have
been described from many seashores, sometimes only once but there are areas of the
world such as much of Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and the Atlantic coast of North
America which are poor in known species, possibly due to lack of collection and identifi
cation from suitable sites or lack of suitable habitats. Th e present list ( Tables 1, 2a,
and 2b ) is based on the literature, mostly as summarised with the relevant references in
a previous paper by the present author (Barber, 2009a ) where are also listed other possible
littoral species for which there is inadequate habitat data. In the tables the probable
status is indicated on the basis of known ecological data (G = genuini , I = indiff erenti ,
R = littoral in one region, inland in another) but it is quite possible that some of the
myriopodi halofi li genuini may turn out to be indiff erenti or even accidentali .
It is also possible that not all species names are valid either because of synonymy or
lack of clarity as to whether the name is being correctly applied. In an example of the
latter, Chamberlin ( 1909 ) described a new species Pectiniunguis heathi (now known as
Nyctunguis heathi ) as up to 22mm and from a shell mound near Cypress Point, Montery
County, California without actually indicating whether this was a shoreline site.