Is this a real species?

[lindell687]

On all the different sites i have been on people say that there is no such centipede with the name galapagoensis but its just a gigantea. Can someone clear up these names Sc. galapagoensis Sc. gigantea Sc. gigantea robusta and a peruvian giant. Aslo how much would one these cost??

 

[cacoseraph]

for sure S. gigantea robusta is not a valid species trinomial anymore

there are S. robusta where are big, but not giant, centipedes from Mexico

S. gigantea are the big, typically red, sold as Peruvian giants

S. galapogoensis can come from brazil and are probably around as long as S. gigantea, maybe even a little longer... but i think not as heavy bodied


A big 8-10" bodylength S. gigantea would run you around $400-$600 in the USA right now, if you can find one.

 

[JonathanF]

Some people call S. gigantea robusta Scolopendra angulata . I think Steven found the keys of S. angulata and his S. g. robusta matching.

 

[cacoseraph]

Some people call S. gigantea robusta Scolopendra angulata . I think Steven found the keys of S. angulata and his S. g. robusta matching.

there is NO SPECIES Scolopendra gigantea robusta. R. Shelley eliminated the species as valid in some relatively recent paper (like ~2004)

the angulata thing might or might not be true, last i saw it was kind of in doubt that the species were S. angulata

 

[Steven]

S. galapogoensis can come from brazil

eeeeuuuh ? :?

It seems like i've made these distribution maps for nothing ,
distr. Sc.galapagoensis
distr. Sc.gigantea

but i think not as heavy bodied

actually to my experience with both spec. :
galapagoensis are "thicker", more massive, then gigantea, not longer.

Some people call S. gigantea robusta Scolopendra angulata

mmm, I never seen anyone calling them Sc.angulata besides me



these are some good quotes from the Sc.angulata <-> Sc.gigantea discussion on another board:
R.Shelley:

it should always be remembered that any description of any species is only as good as the specimens that were available at that time. Our knowledge of most invertebrate species is always subject to revision as more material, from other locations becomes available; no descriptive account should ever be viewed as absolute and iron-clad.

A species is a concept, and our concepts are ever evolving as more material comes to light; noone should assume that any published account represents the last word as to the characters of that species

 

[cacoseraph]

eeeeuuuh ? :?

It seems like i've made these distribution maps for nothing ,
distr. Sc.galapagoensis
distr. Sc.gigantea

lol, meant ecuador. i shouldn't try to work and do bug stuff at the same time

 

[Galapoheros]

It's just never ending info for more reasons than one, that's for sure. For me, I just don't have a perfect memory so some of the stuff can sound new to me when it's really not, hehe. Hey Caco, do you know the date of the last updated version of Shelley's book? That 2004 paper about Scolopendra gigantea robusta for example. I wonder if that is in his latest version. I'll probably get the book someday.

 

[cacoseraph]

It's just never ending info for more reasons than one, that's for sure. For me, I just don't have a perfect memory so some of the stuff can sound new to me when it's really not, hehe. Hey Caco, do you know the date of the last updated version of Shelley's book? That 2004 paper about Scolopendra gigantea robusta for example. I wonder if that is in his latest version. I'll probably get the book someday.

his main book is the Synopsis of North American giant centipedes so the S. gigantea stuff wouldn't be in it

off hand i don't know the Synopsis' copyright date

 

[syiware]

On all the different sites i have been on people say that there is no such centipede with the name galapagoensis but its just a gigantea. Can someone clear up these names Sc. galapagoensis Sc. gigantea Sc. gigantea robusta and a peruvian giant. Aslo how much would one these cost??

"peruvian giant" is only a common name and the others are scientific names. there is no species named S. gigantea robusta. "robusta" means a location where it is from. gigantea has no any subspecies. it costs about 400$~ in the united states if possible. i heard todd gearheart imported and sold giganteas in last 2005. contact him...