Taxonomy and Identification of the Genus Scolopendra in China Using Integrated Methods of External Morphology and Molecular Phylogenetics

Abstract

The centipede Scolopendra has important medicinal value and high toxicity, making it to be an interesting subject for evolutionary studies. However, species identification in China is difficult because of limited resource exploration and lack of recent taxonomic revision. To improve the identification and taxonomy of the genus Scolopendra in China, an in-depth investigation was conducted, and an integrated method that combined morphological characteristics with molecular data was applied. The identification key was revised to show the main difference among species. Our results indicated that morphologically-delimited species were consistent with the molecular analysis inferred from the COI sequences with genetic distances and phylogenetic trees. Additional morphometrics of four characteristics provided criteria for shape variation. These results suggested that the members of the genus Scolopendra in China could be delineated as 14 separate species. A new species from Lufeng county, Yunnan province, was proposed according to its characteristics, which was named as S. lufengia sp. nov. Our results comprehensively ascertained the taxonomic status of Scolopendra species in China, explored their phylogenetic relationships, showed a high success in the identification of medicinal centipedes.

Genetic variation of COI gene of the Korean medicinal centipede Scolopendra mutilans Koch, 1878 (Scolopendromorpha: Scolopendridae)

“…The species identification was determined according to the previous works (Chao & Chang ; Kang et al . ; Koch ). All of the examined materials and genomic DNA stocks have been preserved in the insect collection at the National Institute of Agricultural Science (NIAS), Jeonju, Korea.…”

“…mutilans sensu Kang et al . were obtained from China. For morphospecies identification, the general features of the specimens were observed under a stereoscopic microscope (MZ 16A and MZ 6; Leica, Solms, Germany).…”

“…) and is useful for the identification of morphologically similar and cryptic species in the recent centipede taxonomic works (e.g., Kang et al . ; Siriwut et al . ; Vahtera et al .…”

“…However, other recent integrative taxonomic studies have suggested S. s. mutilans as a valid species (Kang et al . ; Vahtera et al . ).…”

“…DNA sequencing data including COI sequences have been accumulated for Scolopendra species, revealing phylogenetic relationships between species, boundaries between closely related species, and cryptic species diversity (e.g., Kang et al . ; Murienne et al . ; Siriwut et al .…”