New kind of Heros?

[Galapoheros]

That info was floating around on the internet a few weeks ago but it wasn't associated to this site. But now I can't find the info on that other site either. The closest I found was this; http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/sho...cle-Sexing-method-for-living-centipedes/page2

 

[cacoseraph]

I'm kinda curious to see if any but the typical coloration of polymorpha show up in AZ, as well?

is a gnarly one to answer, and i'll tell you why =P

so, in CA i caught (and immediately released at least half of =P ) about 300 to maybe 350 S. polymorpha when i was in CA and they almost all tended towards a basic color... and i pulled from like 20+ areas, mostly in SoCA. in AZ my brother and i have caught (and released about half of) ~15-20 tiger centipedes from around a 30-50 sq mile area and have seen only standard tannish/black models. of course in one area up in central cali we found 3-4 only, but all tended towards blue to a fair degree... and there was a parking lot i found once, that i caught 4-5 of the most strikingly, vibrantly colored specimens i have ever had the pleasure of.. all in a 2000 foot squared area, along with 20+ normal yellowish/tannish with black stripes

 

[zonbonzovi]

Thanks, Andrew and if you'll allow one more Q: are the AZ specimens you guys are finding markedly larger overall? I've only captured one down there and(typical coloration) it dwarfed any I'd collected in CA.

 

[khil]

is a gnarly one to answer, and i'll tell you why =P

so, in CA i caught (and immediately released at least half of =P ) about 300 to maybe 350 S. polymorpha when i was in CA and they almost all tended towards a basic color... and i pulled from like 20+ areas, mostly in SoCA. in AZ my brother and i have caught (and released about half of) ~15-20 tiger centipedes from around a 30-50 sq mile area and have seen only standard tannish/black models. of course in one area up in central cali we found 3-4 only, but all tended towards blue to a fair degree... and there was a parking lot i found once, that i caught 4-5 of the most strikingly, vibrantly colored specimens i have ever had the pleasure of.. all in a 2000 foot squared area, along with 20+ normal yellowish/tannish with black stripes

Whaaaaat! You gotta tell me where you got all these!
It seems to me, california is an ecological deadplace for chelicerates, except for really south california. Especially here in norcal, we have very few scorpions and tarantulas and scolopendra. It's hotter and more desert in socal and there are more s. polymorpha and scorpions. But this has always bugged me-why do these species like dry climates so much? They are numerous in Arizona. Is it just the heat factor?

 

[zonbonzovi]

^

khil, here's a range map: http://naturalsciences.org/sites/default/files/images/research-collections/S_polymorpha.gif

You might have to work a little harder to find them in Norcal but they are there. Stay away from the heavily forested conifer/cedar forests and look for arid zones. Maybe try cruising the 395 out of OR to the S. and stop periodically for a hunt?

 

[Greenjewls]

Most of you are most likely aware, and would not get these mixed up; but I used to think S. viridis and S. polymorpha were all polmorphas. They look very similar even though viridis only seems to reach about 5" BL and polymorpha can attain 7". Once i figured out the taxonomy I realized that all the polymorphas I had found in AZ were of the same "basic" coloration, whereas the viridis were usually colored like this as well, but some were all-over blue-green w/orange head and in another area they were dark navy-blue w/orange head. I never found an off-color polymorpha from Flagstaff to Tucson.

 

[Greenjewls]

Another one has been found! This striped morph was found by a mine in Hayden, AZ in August 2013. Anyone else with a striped morph out there and I may try to sex this one...

 

[zonbonzovi]

I always thought these striped variants were strictly SE AZ but after looking around a bit I'm thinking they are a recessive expression of the more common solid "arizonensis". Cool find Wish I still had a male...

 

[pannaking22]

Any guesses on how these color morphs come about? I know that variation is to be expected within a species, but it seems like polymorpha/heros/arizonensis have many different morphs. It's really cool! I don't know a lot about centipede morphology, so how are you able to distinguish between the different species (besides size)?

---------- Post added 08-06-2013 at 05:46 PM ----------

Also, I really wish I lived in Arizona so I could find all this cool stuff! Illinois is not quite as exciting when it comes to pedes, tarantulas, and scorpions...

 

[zonbonzovi]

^I'll hazard a guess that it has much to do with the geology of the areas in which they're found or possibly mimicry of something that no longer exists. On the former I would say that the different colorforms occupied isolated niches and though changes in the landscape migrated to areas where intergrades became possible. Of course, I'm just an amateur and speculating here. More speculation: It seems to me that in areas where vegetation and prey items are sparse polymorpha, in particular, grow to a smaller size? Just my experiences collecting them, anyway.

Being a highly successful animal that has changed little in millions of years makes it hard to track

 

[Greenjewls]

yeah, when I first saw a striped heros i thought I found an isolated pocket of a separate color morph within the regular arizonensis range... now with this one popping up some distance away and also a photo of one on Bugguide reportedly taken in the sky islands... it's looking like exactly what you said Zon, a random expression of a recessive trait. I should be able to breed this with a regular arizonensis and get some more with stripes...?

 

[lancej]

yeah, when I first saw a striped heros i thought I found an isolated pocket of a separate color morph within the regular arizonensis range... now with this one popping up some distance away and also a photo of one on Bugguide reportedly taken in the sky islands... it's looking like exactly what you said Zon, a random expression of a recessive trait. I should be able to breed this with a regular arizonensis and get some more with stripes...?

If it is a recessive trait, you won't see it with the first generation, unless the normal one just happened to be het for that trait also. It would certainly make for a fascinating experiment, though.

 

[josh_r]

This particular striped "morph" can be found throughout central arizona and within (mixed and amonst) regular orange heros. I don't know if I would go as far as to call it a morph... Maybe more of a color variant as I have found banded ones like your in the superstition mountains along with very typical looking animals. I don't think there is much consistency with the banding in these guys like there is with the extreme southeast AZ animals. They are realy really nice looking though! would be cool to get them to breed true.

 

[zonbonzovi]

I'm sure you guys have seen Galapahero's breeding of the 'xpedes' where different colorforms of heros were mated. The results were fascinating and took on traits of both parents, if I remember right. Those threads are somewhere around here...

 

[Elytra and Antenna]

It's easy to see why the original subspecies designations from 1865, 1903, and 1930 would be questioned today since it almost seems to leave the door open to looking at minor differences within a single subspecies and considering it something new.
The neatest thing about the captive crosses is they look like nothing ever reported in nature while subspecies are usually supposed to naturally intergrade where their borders meet.

 

[Galapoheros]

I wonder if they are isolated to riparian areas in the desert-like areas, something like the gray-banded kingsnake. People that are into that snake know what area individuals come from by their color pattern. I've seen only a few natural oddballs, here's a pic of one that's been posted before http://www.google.com/imgres?q=scol...w=247&start=0&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:88 This one is a little unusual with the blue terminals normally seen with castaneiceps; http://www.texasento.net/heros.htm I used to hunt snakes too but would only see Sc. heros in the riparian areas the snakes could be found.

 

[Greenjewls]

I've found all but one heros in riparian areas, and I found one on an east-facing slope in the superstitions. I was very surprised. Then again it was only half a mile uphill from a semi-riparian wash... Here's a better photo of my recent acquisition, it's 7" which I think is average for adult heros. The terminals seem to be re-growths.