Distribution and natural history of Plutonium zwierleini (Chilopoda: Scolopendromorpha) in Sicily (Italy)
AbstractPlutonium zwierleini is a large plutoniumid centipede of great evolutionary interest, occurring with isolated populations along the western Mediterranean area, from Spain to Italy. Due to its rarity and the extreme paucity of available records, P. zwierleini is among the least known Mediterr...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2024-01-01
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| Series: | The European Zoological Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/24750263.2024.2324118 |
| _version_ | 1797263289083756544 |
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| author | F. P. Faraone L. Vecchioni J. Goldenberg G. Giacalone C. Muscarella G. Signorello A. Battista G. Nicolosi F. Marrone |
| author_facet | F. P. Faraone L. Vecchioni J. Goldenberg G. Giacalone C. Muscarella G. Signorello A. Battista G. Nicolosi F. Marrone |
| author_sort | F. P. Faraone |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | AbstractPlutonium zwierleini is a large plutoniumid centipede of great evolutionary interest, occurring with isolated populations along the western Mediterranean area, from Spain to Italy. Due to its rarity and the extreme paucity of available records, P. zwierleini is among the least known Mediterranean chilopods, and scarce information is currently available on its ecology and natural history. Based on an extensive sampling effort carried out in Sicily between 2022 and 2023, we here provide additional occurrence localities for the species across Sicily, and new insights into its ecology. Overall, 29 novel Sicilian records of P. zwierleini, scattered across 21 localities, were collected thus increasing its known Sicilian distribution area by 117%, and the number of localities by 110%. The species was found in a wide range of habitats such as open areas, woods, buildings, and caves, characterizing Plutonium zwierleini as a habitat generalist, whose fine ecological preferenda need to be further explored. Moreover, to explore the diet and behaviour of the species, some specimens were kept in captivity. The captive individuals fed mostly on dead or poorly mobile soft-bodied prey and inert food, without ever displaying predatory behaviour; this suggests that, contrarily to what is currently assumed, P. zwierleini might be a scavenger rather than a predator. The potential distribution of Plutonium zwierleini in Sicily was inferred based on georeferenced occurrence records and climatic variables. The implemented MaxEnt model forecasts the possible occurrence of P. zwierleini on the whole island, with the single exception of its south-easternmost part, possibly due to the local pattern of precipitation seasonality. We hope that the present work might pave the way for further surveys aimed at a better understanding of the ecology of Plutonium zwierleini and the collection of new data in the other regions inhabited by this secretive species. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-25T00:10:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d7511063145a44c7a2159776b1dc6365 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2475-0263 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-25T00:10:38Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The European Zoological Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-d7511063145a44c7a2159776b1dc63652024-03-13T14:02:01ZengTaylor & Francis GroupThe European Zoological Journal2475-02632024-01-0191130531710.1080/24750263.2024.2324118Distribution and natural history of Plutonium zwierleini (Chilopoda: Scolopendromorpha) in Sicily (Italy)F. P. Faraone0L. Vecchioni1J. Goldenberg2G. Giacalone3C. Muscarella4G. Signorello5A. Battista6G. Nicolosi7F. Marrone8Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Palermo, Palermo, ItalyDepartment of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Palermo, Palermo, ItalyDivision of Biodiversity and Evolution, Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, SwedenDepartment of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Palermo, Palermo, ItalyCooperativa Silene, Palermo, ItalyIndependent Researcher, ItalyIndependent Researcher, ItalyDepartment of Life Sciences and System Biology, University of Torino, Torino, ItalyDepartment of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Palermo, Palermo, ItalyAbstractPlutonium zwierleini is a large plutoniumid centipede of great evolutionary interest, occurring with isolated populations along the western Mediterranean area, from Spain to Italy. Due to its rarity and the extreme paucity of available records, P. zwierleini is among the least known Mediterranean chilopods, and scarce information is currently available on its ecology and natural history. Based on an extensive sampling effort carried out in Sicily between 2022 and 2023, we here provide additional occurrence localities for the species across Sicily, and new insights into its ecology. Overall, 29 novel Sicilian records of P. zwierleini, scattered across 21 localities, were collected thus increasing its known Sicilian distribution area by 117%, and the number of localities by 110%. The species was found in a wide range of habitats such as open areas, woods, buildings, and caves, characterizing Plutonium zwierleini as a habitat generalist, whose fine ecological preferenda need to be further explored. Moreover, to explore the diet and behaviour of the species, some specimens were kept in captivity. The captive individuals fed mostly on dead or poorly mobile soft-bodied prey and inert food, without ever displaying predatory behaviour; this suggests that, contrarily to what is currently assumed, P. zwierleini might be a scavenger rather than a predator. The potential distribution of Plutonium zwierleini in Sicily was inferred based on georeferenced occurrence records and climatic variables. The implemented MaxEnt model forecasts the possible occurrence of P. zwierleini on the whole island, with the single exception of its south-easternmost part, possibly due to the local pattern of precipitation seasonality. We hope that the present work might pave the way for further surveys aimed at a better understanding of the ecology of Plutonium zwierleini and the collection of new data in the other regions inhabited by this secretive species.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/24750263.2024.2324118Centipedefeeding behaviorspecies distribution modelsoil faunacryptozoans |
| spellingShingle | F. P. Faraone L. Vecchioni J. Goldenberg G. Giacalone C. Muscarella G. Signorello A. Battista G. Nicolosi F. Marrone Distribution and natural history of Plutonium zwierleini (Chilopoda: Scolopendromorpha) in Sicily (Italy) The European Zoological Journal Centipede feeding behavior species distribution model soil fauna cryptozoans |
| title | Distribution and natural history of Plutonium zwierleini (Chilopoda: Scolopendromorpha) in Sicily (Italy) |
| title_full | Distribution and natural history of Plutonium zwierleini (Chilopoda: Scolopendromorpha) in Sicily (Italy) |
| title_fullStr | Distribution and natural history of Plutonium zwierleini (Chilopoda: Scolopendromorpha) in Sicily (Italy) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Distribution and natural history of Plutonium zwierleini (Chilopoda: Scolopendromorpha) in Sicily (Italy) |
| title_short | Distribution and natural history of Plutonium zwierleini (Chilopoda: Scolopendromorpha) in Sicily (Italy) |
| title_sort | distribution and natural history of plutonium zwierleini chilopoda scolopendromorpha in sicily italy |
| topic | Centipede feeding behavior species distribution model soil fauna cryptozoans |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/24750263.2024.2324118 |
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