- Source: Schendyla dentata
Schendyla dentata is a species of soil centipede in the family Schendylidae. This centipede is widespread in western Europe. This species is notable not only for its small size, reaching only 12 mm in length, but also for the absence of males in all samples collected. This absence of males suggests that this species reproduces through parthenogenesis.
Taxonomy
This species was first described in 1911 under the name Brachyschendyla dentata by the French zoologists Henri W. Brölemann and Henri Ribaut. In 1912, Brölemann and Ribaut introduced Microschendyla as a subgenus in the genus Brachyschendyla and included Brachyschendyla dentata in their proposed subgenus. Authorities have since deemed both Brachyschendyla and Brachyschendyla (Microschendyla) to be junior synonyms of Schendyla.
Discovery and distribution
In 1911, Brölemann and Ribaut based the original description of this species on a single female specimen found in the central Pyrenees, in Saint-Béat in the department of Haute-Garonne in France. In 1930, Brölemann recorded this species 150 km further north, in the Montague Noire mountain range, in the department of Tarn in France. No more finds were recorded until the 1970 report of the collection of six females and three juveniles in 1968 from two urban sites in the county of Surrey in England. Since then, this species has been recorded in numerous other locations, including sites in southern England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, as well as Austria, the Netherlands, and Denmark.
Ecology
This species has often been found near buildings in urban environments or at other sites influenced by humans. These locations include churchyards, gardens, or abandoned sites in Surrey, Norfolk, Plymouth, Oxfordshire, West Cornwall, and London in England, as well as a garden in Copenhagen in Denmark and a park in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Authorities assume that S. dentata is native in its range from France to Austria, where this species was found in a forest southwest of the summit of Leopoldsberg near Vienna, but this species was probably introduced by humans to England, where specimens have been observed only in urban habitats or otherwise synanthropic sites. The small size of this species makes this centipede likely to be transported with plants and soil undetected and spread inadvertently by humans. Authorities also suspect that parthenogenetic reproduction has facilitated the establishment of this species in urban and suburban environments.
Description
This species is small, with adults ranging from 9 mm to 12 mm in length and juveniles ranging from 5 mm to 6.5 mm in length. This centipede features 39 pairs of legs and is whitish and somewhat translucent. The head is slightly longer than wide (with a length/width ratio ranging from 1.1 to 1.2). The labrum features 13 to 15 teeth, with the middle teeth pigmented and rounded like tubercles and the pale lateral teeth sharper but also more obtuse. These teeth become flatter and more inconspicuous away from the center and toward either lateral extreme. The side pieces of the labrum are clearly separated from the clypeus by a pale band. The first maxillae feature two pairs of lappets, a well developed distal pair and a small inconspicuous pair at the base of these maxillae. Each of the second maxillae ends in a simple claw without spines. The ultimate article of the forcipule features a prominent tooth at the base, and the first article features a well developed medial tooth. The anterior sternites feature no ventral pores. The basal element of each of the ultimate legs features two pores in adults but only one pore in juveniles. Each of the ultimate legs ends with a rudimentary truncated seventh article, only one-seventh the length of the penultimate article, without any apical claw.
This species shares many traits with other species in the genus Schendyla. For example, like other species in this genus, this species features two pores and no claw on each of the ultimate legs. Furthermore, sternal pores are often absent in other species in this genus, and these other species often feature few spines on the second maxillae. Other traits, however, distinguish S. dentata from the other Schendyla species found in Europe. For example, the small terminal article of the ultimate legs distinguishes S. dentata from similar species, including S. nemorensis, S. armata, and S. tyrolensis.
