''Schendyla antici'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of soil centipede in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Schendylidae Schendylidae is a family of Geophilomorpha, soil centipedes in the superfamily Himantarioidea and the order Geophilomorpha. These centipedes are found in the Americas, the Palearctic realm, Palearctic region, Africa, Madagascar, Australia, and ...

. This species is notable as one of only six species in the order

Geophilomorpha Geophilomorpha is an order of centipedes commonly known as soil centipedes. The name "Geophilomorpha" is from Ancient Greek roots meaning "formed to love the earth." This group is the most diverse centipede order, with 230 genera. These centiped ...

to feature

centipedes Centipedes (from Neo-Latin , "hundred", and Latin language, Latin , "foot") are predatory arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda (Ancient Greek , ''kheilos'', "lip", and Neo-Latin suffix , "foot", describing the forcipules) of the subphyl ...

with only 29 pairs of legs, which is also the minimum number recorded in the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Schendyla ''Schendyla'' is a genus of Geophilomorpha, soil centipedes in the family (biology), family Schendylidae. These centipedes are found in the west Palearctic realm, Palearctic region. This genus was described by Danish entomology, entomologists Vi ...

''. No other species in this genus features so few legs.

Discovery

This species was first described by three

biologists A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual cell, a multicellular organism, or a community of interacting populations. They usually specialize in ...

from the

University of Belgrade The University of Belgrade () is a public university, public research university in Belgrade, Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it me ...

( Dalibor Z Stojanović, Mirko Ševićin, and Slobodan E Makarov) in 2024, based on specimens extracted from soil samples from

Medvednik Medvednik (Serbian Cyrillic: Медведник) is a mountain in western Serbia, near the town of Valjevo Valjevo (Serbian Cyrillic: Ваљево, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Kolubara District in w ...

mountain in western

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. These specimens include not only a male

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

collected in 2011 and fourteen paratypes (five males and nine females) collected in 2021 but also seven more specimens (two males, five females, and three juvenile females) collected in 2023. The specific name of ''S. antici'' honors the Serbian myriapodologiist

Dragan Antić Dragan (, sr-Cyrl, Драган) is a South Slavic masculine given name derived from the common Slavic element '' drag'' meaning "dear, beloved". The feminine form is Dragana. People named Dragan include: Politicians and office holders *Draga ...

, who discovered the first specimen and participated in the collection of most of the others.

Description

This species exhibits

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, di ...

in leg number: All eight male specimens have 29 pairs of legs, and all seventeen female specimens have 31 leg pairs. This species is whitish with a pale yellowish color on parts of the head, antennae, mouthparts, forcipular segment, and claws of the walking legs. The claws of the second

maxillae In vertebrates, the maxilla (: maxillae ) is the upper fixed (not fixed in Neopterygii) bone of the jaw formed from the fusion of two maxillary bones. In humans, the upper jaw includes the hard palate in the front of the mouth. The two maxillar ...

are moderately elongated without spines or filaments. Like other centipedes in the genus ''Schendyla'', this species features two pores near the

sternite The sternum (: sterna) is the ventral portion of a segment of an arthropod thorax or abdomen. In insects, the sterna are usually single, large sclerites, and external. However, they can sometimes be divided in two or more, in which case the su ...

on the basal element of each of the

ultimate legs Ultimate legs are a pair of modified rear legs unique to centipedes. Although they do not aid in locomotion, ultimate legs are used for a variety of uses, and their morphology varies accordingly. Sexual dimorphism is frequently present. Usage ...

. The adult specimens range from 4.5 mm to 8.0 mm in length, and the juvenile female specimens measure about 4 mm long. The adult females (with an average length of 6.5 mm) tend to be larger than the adult males (with an average length of 5.8 mm long). These centipedes are so small that the original description refers to ''S. antici'' as a "dwarf" species. Diagnostic features of this species include not only its small size and modest number of legs but also a distinctive set of other traits. These traits include minute denticles on the first article of the

forcipule Forcipules are the modified, pincer-like, front legs of centipedes that are used to inject venom into prey. They are the only known examples of front legs acting as venom injectors. Nomenclature Forcipules go by a variety of names in both sci ...

, a rudimentary claw on the ultimate legs, and the absence of ventral pore-fields on the sternites. These features distinguish ''S. antici'' from other species of the genus ''Schendyla''. For example, only three species in this genus approach ''S. antici'' in terms of leg number: ''S. verneri'' (with 31 pairs of legs), ''S. walachica'' (with 33 or 35 leg pairs in each sex), and ''S. armata'' (with as few as 33 pairs in females and 35 in males). The species ''S. verneri'' is small (9 mm to 10 mm in length) and has small denticles on the first article of the forcipule but also has some scattered pores on the anterior sternites and no claws on the ultimate legs. The species ''S. walachica'' has rudimentary claws on its ultimate legs but also features pore-fields on some sternites, has no denticles on the first article of the forcipule, and is twice as long as ''S. antici''. Finally, ''S. armata'' is small (5 mm to 11 mm in length) and has rudimentary claws on its ultimate legs and no sternal pore-fields but also features denticles on the first article of the forcipule that are distinctly robust rather than small.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q125700435 antici Myriapods of Europe Animals described in 2024 Endemic fauna of Serbia