Journal of Threatened Taxa |
www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 August 2024 | 16(8): 25742–25747
ISSN 0974-7907
(Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print)
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.9089.16.8.25742-25747
#9089 | Received 16
April 2024 | Final received 03 June 2024 | Finally accepted 05 August 2024
Diversity and distribution of
large centipedes (Chilopoda: Scolopendromorpha)
in Nui Chua National Park, Vietnam
Son X. Le 1
, Thinh
T. Do 2, Thuc H. Nguyen 3 & Binh T.T. Tran
4
1–3 Joint
Vietnam - Russia Tropical Science and Technology Research Centre, 63 Nguyen Van
Huyen Road, Nghia Do, Cau Giay, Hanoi, Vietnam.
1 VNU University of Sciences,
Vietnam National University, 334 Nguyen Trai Road,
Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi, Vietnam.
4 Hanoi University of Education,
136 Xuan Thuy, Cau Giay
District, Hanoi, Vietnam.
1 lesonenv86@yahoo.com
(corresponding author), 2 dotatthinh16@gmail.com, 3 nguyenthucst76@gmail.com,
4 binhttt@hnue.edu.vn
Editor: Gregory D. Edgecombe, Natural History
Museum, London UK. Date of publication: 26 August
2024 (online & print)
Citation: Le, S.X., T.T. Do, T.H. Nguyen & B.T.T. Tran (2024). Diversity
and distribution of large centipedes (Chilopoda: Scolopendromorpha) in Nui Chua National Park, Vietnam. Journal of Threatened Taxa 16(8):
25742–25747. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.9089.16.8.25742-25747
Copyright: © Le et al. 2024. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. JoTT allows
unrestricted use, reproduction, and distribution of this article in any medium
by providing adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publication.
Funding: (1) Joint Vietnam - Russia Tropical Science and Technology Research Centre under the project ST.D1.02/24 “Taxonomy, biodiversity and genetic relationship of large centipedes (Chilopoda: Scolopendromorpha) in Vietnam”. (2) - Nagao Environment Foundation of Japan under the project “Exploring the diversity and distribution of the large centipedes (Chilopoda, Scolopendromorpha) in Nui Chua National Park, southcentral Vietnam”
Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.
Author details: Son
X. Le, Thinh T. Do, Thuc H. Nguyen are currently working for Institute of Tropical Ecology, oint Vietnam-Russia Tropical Science and Technology Research Center (Hanoi, Vietnam).
They are focusing on taxonomy, systematics and ecology of centipedes and other soil animals in Vietnam. Binh T.T. Tran is currently working for Department of Biology, Hanoi University of Education (Hanoi, Vietnam). She is also focusing on taxonomy, systematics and ecology of centipedes and other soil animals in Vietnam.
Author contributions: All authors equally contribute to the current paper, including sample
collecting, analyzing, photographing and manuscript
writing.
Acknowledgements: This work
was funded by project ST.D1.02/24 “Taxonomy,
biodiversity and genetic relationship of large centipedes (Chilopoda:
Scolopendromorpha) in Vietnam” of the Joint
Vietnam-Russia Tropical Science and Technology Research Centre, and supported
by the Nagao Environment Foundation of Japan under the project
“Exploring the diversity and distribution of the large centipedes (Chilopoda, Scolopendromorpha) in
Nui Chua National Park, southcentral Vietnam”. The management board of the Nui
Chua NP was acknowledged for their kindly allowing us to conduct field surveys.
Abstract. Field surveys on large centipedes
of Nui Chua National Park, south-central part of Vietnam, were conducted in
September 2023 and February 2024. As a result, a total of 12 species/subspecies
belonging to five genera and two families of the order Scolopendromorpha
were recorded. Of two families, Scolopendridae has
nine species in four genera, while Cryptopidae has
only two species in one genus. In addition, the distribution pattern of the
large centipedes is discussed based on the season (rainy versus dry), altitudes,
and different habitats.
Keywords: Altitudes, biodiversity, bioinvestigation, distribution, habitats, scolopendromorph, season, south-central Vietnam, taxon.
Introduction
Centipedes
are the largest group of terrestrial carnivorous invertebrates and have an
important role in balancing the ecosystem or controlling harmful organisms
(Lewis 1981). Therefore, it is very essential to have a better understanding of
this group. The large centipede fauna (Scolopendromorpha)
in Vietnam was initially studied by foreign researchers such as Attems (1930) and Schileyko
(1992, 1995, 2007). Recently, Vietnamese systematists started to conduct more
research on the taxonomy and diversity of scolopendromorph
centipedes, such as Tran et al. (2013), Vu et al (2020, 2022), and Le et al.
(2018, 2021, 2023).
Nui Chua
National Park (NP) in Ninh Thuan
province, south-central Vietnam, has been recognized as a World Biosphere
Reserve since 2021 (Figure 1). This is in recognition by the international
community of its natural landscape, biodiversity, and indigenous cultural
values. The biosphere reserve has a total area of 106,000 ha
, including forests, seas, and semi-deserts. With the core area being
Nui Chua National Park, this region possesses much biodiversity value for its
rare species of animals and plants. In addition, it has a harsh climate, low
rainfall, and hot weather all year round, creating for Nui Chua a natural
landscape with unique characteristics of the dry climate region of Ninh Thuan. This is also a unique
and rare characteristic of Vietnam and southeastern Asia. However, up to now,
large centipedes in the Nui Chua NP area are still poorly known. According to
Tran et al. (2013), Scolopendra morsitans is the only species recorded in Ninh Thuan province. The recorded
location is about 20 km south-west of Nui Chua NP.
This study
aims to provide the species composition of the large centipedes and their
distribution pattern in Nui Chua NP.
Material and methods
Field
surveys were carried out in September 2023 and February 2024 in different
habitats in Nui Chua NP, including natural broadleaf forests (NF), planted
forests (PF) and coniferous forests (CF). Samples were also collected at
different altitudes (including below 300 m, 300–600 m, and 600–1,000 m)
according to Vu (2012) and Bain & Hurley (2011).
Centipede
samples were collected by pitfall trapping (Mesibov
& Churchill 2003), leaf-sifting (Górny & Grum 1993) and manually collecting from rotting trees,
under rocks, and forest litter. A total of 156 samples were collected during
the two field surveys. All specimens were preserved in 75–80 % ethanol and kept
at the Joint Vietnam-Russia Tropical Science and Technology Research Centre
(VRTC).
Specimens were identified using Attems (1930), Schileyko (2007,
2020), Siriwut et al. (2016), and Vu
et al. (2020). Ecological indices including the number
of species, Shannon-Weaver (H’), and uniformity (J’) were calculated using the software Primer
ver. 7.0 for each habitat type
and altitude. A similarity index was calculated
using the software R ver. 4.0.4.
Results and Discussion
Diversity composition and distribution of Scolopendromorpha
From 156
specimens collected in the Nui Chua NP, 12 species/subspecies of five genera
belonging to two families were identified. Eleven species were new records to
the fauna of Nui Chua, including Scolopendra
morsitans, S. subspinipes,
S. dehaani, S. japonica, Scolopendra
sp., Otostigmus spinosus,
O. scaber, O. multidens, Asanada brevicornis, Ethmostimus rubripes platycephalus, Cryptops (Cryptops) sp., and Cryptops
(Paracryptops) indicus (Table 1).
With the
harsh climate in the area, the rainy season is of short duration, from
September to November, while the dry season lasts from December to August of
the following year. The seasonal diversity of large centipedes in the Nui Chua
NP area does not differ significantly. In the rainy season, 10 species were
recorded, while in the dry season nine species were recorded. Centipedes are
likely to be more active in the rainy season than in the dry season. This is
evident from the number of specimens collected in each season, with 106
specimens found during the rainy season compared to 50 during the dry season.
This phenomenon can be explained by the characteristic of centipedes to prefer
to live in humid environments.
Three
species, Scolopendra morsitans,
S. dehaani, and Scolopendra
sp., were recorded only in the rainy season, while Scolopendra
japonica and subspecies Ethmostimus rubripes platycephalus were
found only in the dry season.
Among the
habitats, the NF is the most diverse one in terms of species and collected
specimens (12 species and 123 individuals). The PF habitat is less diverse with
five species and 27 individuals. The lowest number of species and collected
specimens was recorded in the CF habitat (four species and only six
individuals). This result is similar to previous research in other areas, in
which the CF habitat has a lower number of species in comparison with the other
habitats (Le & Vu 2018; Le et al. 2021). This is even more clearly shown in
Nui Chua NP, where the terrain and climate are typical, and coniferous forests
are concentrated mainly on the coast, so only species with wide distribution
and adaptability can be found. There are only two species, Asanada
brevicornis and Cryptops
(Cryptops) sp. recorded in all three
habitats; Scolopendra morsistans,
Otostigmus spinosus,
and Otostigmus multidens
were recorded in two habitats; the remaining species were only recorded in NF.
Regarding
topological distribution, the highest species diversity was recorded in the
elevation range of less than 300 m (10 species), while other elevation ranges
had lower diversity, with eight species recorded in the elevation of 300–600 m,
and seven in the elevation of 600–1,000 m. Five species were recorded at all
three different altitudes, including Scolopendra
subspinipes, Otostigmus spinosus, O. scaber, O. multidens, and Cryptops
(Cryptops) sp. Two species, Scolopendra dehaani
and Scolopendra sp., were recorded only at
altitudes below 300 m, while Scolopendra
japonica and Ethmostimus rubripes platycephalus were
recorded only at altitudes of 600–1,000 m. The remaining species were recorded
at two altitude ranges below 600 m.
Taxon
diversity
Only two
families, Scolopendridae and Cryptopidae,
were recorded in Nui Chua National Park. Of these, Scolopendridae
had a higher diversity in terms of the number of recorded genera and species
(four genera and 10 species). Cryptopidae had only
one genus and two species recorded (Figure 2). This result is similar to
previous studies on large centipede fauna in Vietnam (Tran et al. 2013, 2018;
Le & Vu 2018; Nguyen et al. 2019).
Of five
genera (Figure 3), Scolopendra was the genus
with the highest number of species (five species, accounting for 42% of the
total number of species), followed by Otostigmus
with three species (accounting for 25%). The remaining two genera, Asanada and Ethmostigmus,
had only one species each (accounting for 8%).
Biological
indicators
The results
of the biological indicators are presented in Table 2, in which the NF habitat
had the highest H’ index of 2.06, this value showing that the diversity in this
habitat was quite high. In contrast, the CF habitat had very poor diversity (H’
= 0.87). The PF habitat presented an average diversity (H’ = 1.21). For the
altitude, all three altitudes showed moderate diversity with H’ ranging from
1.77 (0–300 m) to 1.81 (300–600 m). The uniformity index J’ showed that this
index did not differ significantly among habitats. The uniformity was highest
in the PF habitat (0.87), and lowest in the CF habitat (0.79). Regarding the
altitude, J’ index expressed more difference, whereby it was highest at
altitudes of 600–1,000 m, with 0.89, and lowest at altitudes below 300 m with
0.77. Thus, at an altitude of 300 m, although there was the greatest diversity
and richness, the uniformity of species
is the lowest. This was due to differences in the number of collected specimens
such as Cryptops (Cryptops)
sp. (28 specimens), Otostigmus spinosus (24 specimens), while Scolopendra
dehaani was represented by only one specimen.
The
similarities in species composition among habitats and altitudes are shown in
Figure 4 by NMDS analysis. According to the results in Figure 4A, the habitats
express little similarity in species composition, made plain by the distance
among the habitats in the figure. The close relationship of species to habitats
is also clearly shown, whereby the species Cryptops
(Cryptops) indicus is close to the
NF, the Scolopendra morsitans
is close to the CF habitat, three species (Asanda brevicornis
(Image 1), Cryptops (Cryptops)
sp., Otostigmus multidens,
and Otostigmus spinosus)
are closer to PF, but Otostigmus spinosus was the closest. Other species have not been
seen to have associations with habitats.
The
similarity by altitude (Figure 4B) shows that altitudes below 300 m are closer
to altitudes 300–600 m than to altitudes 600–1,000 m. The recorded species also
show close relationships with different altitudes. Among them, Ethmostimus rubripes
platycephalus and Otostigmus
scaber are closely related at altitudes of
600–1,000 m, Cryptops (Cryptops)
sp. and Otostigmus spinosus
are closer to altitudes below 300 m, while Cryptops
(Cryptops) indicus and Scolopendra subspinipes
are closer to altitudes of 300–600 m.
Discussion
Nui Chua NP
is located in the hottest and driest area in Vietnam with a very short rainy
season, little annual rainfall, and a long dry season. The species diversity of
the large centipedes was not very low (12 species). The results are similar to
the diversity of Hoang Lien National Park, Thuong
Tien, and Xuan Nha Nature Reserve in the northwestern
region of Vietnam, where there is more diversity in habitat types, altitudes,
and humid climates, more favourable for the growth
and development of centipedes (Nguyen et al. 2018, 2019a,b).
In previous
studies, it was noted that the genus Otostigmus
has the highest diversity, but in this study, Scolopendra
is shown to be the most diverse genus. Notably, the species Scolopendra
japonica was recorded, previously mentioned by Siriwut
(2016), to be distributed in Sapa (altitude above 1,600 m) in the north of
Vietnam, in which the climate is completely different from Nui Chua NP. The
geographical distance of the two recorded locations is very far apart, which
shows that this species is most likely widely distributed in Vietnam.
Additional studies are needed for different regions in Vietnam to confirm its
distributional pattern.
Table 1. Species composition and
distribution of scolopendromorphs in Nui Chua
National Park, Ninh Thuan
province.
|
|
Taxon |
Season |
Elevation range (m) |
Habitat |
|||||
|
Dry |
Rain |
0–300 |
300–600 |
600–1,000 |
NF |
PF |
CF |
||
|
|
Family Scolopendridae
Pocock, 1895 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Genus Scolopendra
Linnaeus, 1758 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
Scolopendra morsitans Linnaeus, 1758 |
|
+(6) |
+(4) |
+(2) |
|
+(2) |
|
+(4) |
|
2 |
Scolopendra subspinipes Leach, 1815 |
+(13) |
+(2) |
+(4) |
+(7) |
+(4) |
+(15) |
|
|
|
3 |
Scolopendra dehaani Brandt, 1840 |
|
+(1) |
+(1) |
|
|
+(1) |
|
|
|
4 |
Scolopendra japonica Koch, 1878 |
+(2) |
|
|
|
+(2) |
+(2) |
|
|
|
5 |
Scolopendra sp. |
|
+(2) |
+(2) |
|
|
+(2) |
|
|
|
|
Genus Otostigmus
Porat, 1876 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
6 |
Otostigmus spinosus Porat, 1876 |
+(4) |
+(26) |
+(24) |
+(3) |
+(3) |
+(19) |
+(11) |
|
|
7 |
Otostimus scaber Porat, 1876 |
+(6) |
+(3) |
+(2) |
+(1) |
+(6) |
+(9) |
|
|
|
8 |
Otostigmus multidens Haase, 1887 |
+(9) |
+(5) |
+(3) |
+(4) |
+(7) |
+(12) |
+(2) |
|
|
|
Genus Asanada
Meinert, 1886 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
9 |
Asanada brevicornis Meinert, 1886 |
+(7) |
+(24) |
+(19) |
+(12) |
|
+(26) |
+(4) |
+(1) |
|
|
Genus Ethmostigmus
Newport, 1845 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
10 |
Ethmostimus rubripes platycephalus (Newport, 1845) |
+(1) |
|
|
|
+(1) |
+(1) |
|
|
|
|
Family Cryptopidae
Kohlrausch, 1881 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Genus Cryptops
Leach, 1815 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
11 |
Cryptops (Cryptops) sp. |
+(6) |
+(33) |
+(28) |
+(7) |
+(4) |
+(28) |
+(10) |
+(1) |
|
12 |
Cryptops (Paracryptops) indicus Silvestri, 1924 |
+(2) |
+(4) |
+(3) |
+(3) |
|
+(6) |
|
|
|
|
Total number of individuals |
50 |
106 |
90 |
39 |
27 |
123 |
27 |
6 |
|
|
Total species |
9 |
10 |
10 |
8 |
7 |
12 |
5 |
3 |
NF—natural broadleaf forests |
PF—planted forests | CF—coniferous forests | +—present | The number in parantheses indicates samples collected.
Table 2. Diversity index and
uniformity index by habitat and altitude.
|
Habitat/elevation (m) |
Amount |
Index |
||
|
Species |
Individual |
J' |
H' |
|
|
NF |
12 |
123 |
0.83 |
2.06 |
|
PF |
4 |
27 |
0.87 |
1.21 |
|
CF |
3 |
6 |
0.79 |
0.87 |
|
0–300 |
10 |
90 |
0.77 |
1.77 |
|
300–600 |
8 |
39 |
0.89 |
1.85 |
|
600–1,000 |
7 |
27 |
0.93 |
1.81 |
For
figures & image - - click here for full PDF
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