Preliminary conservation assessment of Cuban giant centipedes (Chilopoda: Scolopendromorpha)

Abstract: In nature conservation, there is a general recognition of the need for increased knowledge about the Earth's species and for national capability to survey and inventory biological diversity, since conservation planning largely depends on spatial information about the distribution of biodiversity [1]. Centipedes (class Chilopoda) are terrestrial arthropods with a predatory lifestyle and generally nocturnal habits. They are potentially important organisms for ecological and conservation studies because they could serve as indicators of environmental change and of the diversity of ground-dwelling, flightless invertebrates [2]. The class Chilopoda comprises approximately 3,110 species, 700 of which belong to the so called giant centipedes (order Scolopendromorpha) [3]. Seven genera and 25 species of scolopendromorphs are reported to occur in Cuba. However, they were in urgent need of revision to make it possible to map their recorded distributions and carry out a preliminary national conservation assessment. Thus, 180 years of available literature and related museum specimens were reviewed, the corresponding taxonomy was updated, and a new species list, a new key and 19 species diagnoses were collated to provide a reference for future studies. A species new to Cuba and a species new to science were found in museum collections. Three localities had primary georeferences and 105 published localities were secondarily georeferenced. All localities and species were mapped and their occurrence inside the National System of Protected Areas (NSPA) was analyzed. Only 22 out of 211 protected areas were found to harbor recorded giant centipedes. Only 9 of 17 autochthonous species (53%) and 3 of 7 endemics (43%) had recorded occurences in the NSPA, though 2 of those 7 (29%) had at least 70% of their occurrences within protected areas. It was concluded that the Cuban NSPA does not adequately cover autochthonous and endemic species of Scolopendromorpha, and that the group is considerably undersampled. Keywords: Scolopendromorpha, Cuba, taxonomy, distribution, protected areas, gap analysis. References: [1] Rodrigues, A. S. L. & T. M. Brooks. 2007. Shortcuts for Biodiversity Conservation Planning: The Effectiveness of Surrogates. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, 38 (1): 713-737. [2] Druce, D. [J.], M. Hamer & R. Slotow. 2004. Sampling strategies for millipedes (Diplopoda), centipedes (Chilopoda) and scorpions (Scorpionida) in savanna habitats. African Zoology, 39 (2): 293-304. [3] Minelli, A. 2011. Class Chilopoda, Class Symphyla and Class Pauropoda. (pp. 157-158). In: Zhang, Z.-Q. (Ed.). Animal biodiversity: An outline of higher-level classification and survey of taxonomic richness. Zootaxa, 3148: 1-237.peerReviewe