Lithobius (Lithobius) blanchardi Leger & Duboscq, 1903

Zapparoli, Marzio & Iorio, Etienne, 2012, The centipedes (Chilopoda) of Corsica: catalogue of species with faunistic, zoogeographical and ecological remarks, International Journal of Myriapodology 7, pp. 15-68 : 19-21

4. Lithobius (Lithobius) blanchardi Leger & Duboscq, 1903

Lithobius acuminatus Bröl.: Léger and Duboscq 1903: 309. (1)

? Lithobius dentatus C. K.?: Léger and Duboscq 1903: 309. (2)

Lithobius Blanchardi Léger & Duboscq 1903: 310, 317 (sub Lithobius (Archilithobius) Blanchardi ). (3)

? Lithobius calcaratus C.K.?: Léger and Duboscq 1903: 310. (4)

Lithobius acuminatus Bröl.: Verhoeff 1925a: 656. (5)

Lithobius blanchardi Lég. [sic]: Verhoeff 1925a: 656. (6)

? Lithobius calcaratus Koch: Verhoeff 1925a: 656. (7)

? Lithobius dentatus Koch: Verhoeff 1925a: 656. (8)

Lithobius acuminatus : Brölemann 1926: 231. (9)

Lithobius Blanchardi : Brölemann 1926: 231. (10)

Lithobius acuminatus Brolemann [sic], 1892: Brölemann 1930: 288, figs 430-431. (11)

Lithobius Blanchardi Léger et Duboscq, 1903: Brölemann 1930: 300. (12)

Lithobius acuminatus cassinensis Verh.: Verhoeff 1943: 18. (13)

Lithobius acuminatus Bröl.: Attems 1949: 112. (14)

? Lithobius dentatus C. Koch [sic]: Attems 1949: 114. (15)

? Lithobius calcaratus C. Koch [sic]: Attems 1949: 116. (16)

Lithobius tricuspis Mein.: Manfredi 1956: 292. (17)

? Lithobius calcaratus C.L. Koch, 1844: Foddai et al. 1996: 360, Tab. I. (18)

Lithobius cassinensis Verhoeff, 1925: Foddai et al. 1996: 360, Tab. I. (19)

Lithobius tricuspis Meinert, 1872: Foddai et al. 1996: 360, Tab. I. (20)

Lithobius (Lithobius) blanchardi Léger & Duboscq, 1903: Geoffroy and Iorio 2009: 675. (21)

? Lithobius (Lithobius) calcaratus C. L. Koch, 1844: Geoffroy and Iorio 2009: 675. (22)

Lithobius (Lithobius) cassinensis Verhoeff, 1925: Geoffroy and Iorio 2009: 675. (23)

? Lithobius (Lithobius) dentatus C. L. Koch, 1844: Geoffroy and Iorio 2009: 676. (24)

Lithobius (Lithobius) tricuspis Meinert, 1872: Geoffroy and Iorio 2009: 679. (25)

Lithobius (Lithobius) blanchardi Léger & Duboscq, 1903: Iorio 2010b: 23, 41, 74, fig. 96. (26)

? Lithobius (Lithobius) dentatus C. L. Koch, 1844: Iorio 2010b: 42. (27)

Literature records.

General. Corsica (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27). Epigeic. Corse-du-Sud, 2A - Ajaccio (3, 26, loc. typ. of Lithobius (Archilithobius) blanchardi Léger and Duboscq, 1903) [I]. Villanova (26) [I]. Haute-Corse, 2B - Casanova, Saint Pierre de Venaco (26) [I]. Corte (26) [I]. Mount Renoso (26) [IV]. Olmi-Cappella (26) [II]. Patrimonio (26) [I]. Vizzavona (1, 2, 4, 13) [III]. Cave. Corse-du-Sud, 2A - [Conca], cave Tavonu [Tavono in Rémy 1950] de Nuaia N. 1, [60 m] (17) [I]. Haute-Corse, 2B - [Castiglione], cave of Sabara, [600 m] (17) [I]. [Moltifao], cave of Pietralbello, [240 m] (17) [I]. [Omessa], cave Cabanuli, [435 m] (17) [I]. [Solaro], cave i Paladini, [250 m ca] (17) [I].

Material examined.

Epigeic. Corse-du-Sud, 2A - Col de Bavella, NE slope, 1100 m: 14.VII.1982, AVT, 1 ♀ MZ det. (CMZ) [II]. Evisa, falls of Aitone, 1000 m: 3.VIII.1997, MZ, 4 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀ MZ det. (CMZ) [II]. Evisa, Castanea sativa wood above the village, 850 m: 13.IV.2004, MZ, 1 ♂ MZ det. (CMZ) [II]. Ota, near, 350 m: 1.VIII.1997, MZ, 1 ♀ subadult MZ det. (CMZ) [I]. Zonza, surroundings: 13.VIII.1997, MZ, 1 ♂ without VaC 15th MZ det. (CMZ) [II]. Haute-Corse, 2B - Asco River valley, 1000 m: 6.VIII.1997, MZ, 1 ♂, 1 ♀ subadult MZ det. (CMZ) [II]. Corte, Restonica Valley, Pinus laricio wood, 1080 m: 15.IV.2004, MZ, 2 ♀♀ MZ det. (CMZ) [II]. Between L’lle Rousse and Corbara, 42° 37'08"N, 8°56'30"E, EP & HE, 6 ♂♂, 1 ♀, 1 ♀ subadult MZ det. (NHMD) [I]. Mount Cinto, NW slope, 1700-1900 m: 29.VII.1982, AVT, 1 ♂, 1 ♀ (2+2 gonopodal spurs), 2 ♀♀ subadult (1+1-2+2 gonopodal spurs) MZ det. (CMZ) [IV]. Cave. Haute-Corse, 2B - Caporalino, cave of Monte A Supietra: 2010, JR-JML, 1 ♀ EI det. (CEI) [I]. Castiglione, cave of A Leccia Torta, [670 m]: 2010, JR-JML, 4 ♂♂, 4 ♀♀ EI det. (CEI) [I].

General distribution.

Corsica ( Geoffroy and Iorio 2009); because of the synonymy of Lithobius cassinensis with Lithobius blanchardi (see Geoffroy and Iorio 2009) also in Italy and possibly in the south-east of France.

Chorotype.

W-Mediterranean.

Ecological notes.

350-1100 m, altitudinal range probably wider; recorded from localities in all the vegetation belts of Corsica, especially the Mesomediterranean, apart from the Alpine belt. The few habitat records for this species are from forest locations ( Pinus laricio , 1 site; Castanea sativa , 1 site); also in caves (5 sites; trogloxene species). See Rémy (1950), Manfredi (1956).

Remarks.

Léger and Duboscq (1903: 309) recorded from Vizzavona (as Lithobius dentatus ) a female 10 mm long and with 43 antennal articles and a female (as Lithobius calcaratus C. L. Koch, 1844) 11 mm long with 49 antennal articles. Although no further comments were provided the authors considered both records uncertain marking them with a question mark. These records were later uncritically repeated by Verhoeff (1925b), Attems (1949) and Foddai et al. (1996). As there is no further evidence for the occurence of these two species in Corsica most modern authors ( Geoffroy and Iorio 2009, Iorio 2010b) consider their presence on the island uncertain, at least in the case of Lithobius dentatus . Both specimens studied by Léger and Duboscq (1903: 309) probably belong to Lithobius blanchardi and are here, although tentatively, assigned to this species on the assumption that they are conspecific with the probably immature single unsexed specimen 6.5 mm long, with 39 antennal articles and 8 ocelli, described by Léger and Duboscq (1903: 309) as Lithobius acuminatus Brölemann, 1892 and the single male 10 mm long and with 44 antennal articles described by Verhoeff (1943) from the same locality, Vizzavona, as Lithobius acuminatus cassinensis Verhoeff, 1925 are here referred to Lithobius blanchardi according to Iorio (2010b).

The supposed presence of Lithobius tricuspis Meinert, 1872 in the Sardinia-Corsica complex has been already discussed by Zapparoli (2009). In his view all records of this species from Sardinia must be assigned to Lithobius turritanus Fanzago, 1881, a species belonging to a group including a number of closely related species distributed in the Western Mediterranean area, such as Lithobius acuminatus , Lithobius blanchardi and Lithobius trinacrius Verhoeff, 1925, whose identities deserve further investigation. The cave records of Lithobius tricuspis recorded by Manfredi (1956) from Corsica are here assigned to Lithobius blanchardi . These records are the same as those quoted as “Chilopodes” or “Lithobiides” in Rémy (1950: 27, 28, 33, 34).