Scolopendra aztecorum?

[zonbonzovi]

So who should I send a specimen to? Cause I really want to know for sure and nobody has really confirmed it. I always have one or two in captivity at a time. I am more than willing to send one off. Here is some macro photos I found.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/768457...photolist-dJgGEH-dJn8rL-dJgFMP-dJn9Hj-dJotRA/

Dr. Rowland Shelley. I hope this contact info is still good. He'll probably want it dead and in preservative:

http://naturalsciences.org/research-collections/research-specialties/invertebrates/rowland-shelley

 

[Galapoheros]

lol yeah, that's how he likes pedes, dead. Yip, Shelley is the one to send it to. I'm kind of like cantthinkofone, I'm not big on IDing, keeping them and watching the behavior is more my thing. I really like the breeding end of it, I try to be a productive person:sarcasm:

 

[zhangjunduo]

(Smirk). Yeah...I was the one to suggest that as a potential ID...good to see it's being used as a sales gimmick:sarcasm:

No one with a juvy/adult and a camera has bothered to confirm the one characteristic that would make this obviously different from polymorpha(see past threads for that one characteristic). Why, I don't know? Take that potential ID with a grain of salt. As far as colors, consider polymorpha and heros and subspinipes and morsitans and, and, etc. DNA would tell the tale. The only person that has given a specimen the thorough treatment is krabbelspine, who suggested it had shown no appreciable difference from polymorpha. He's also the person that authored the paper on the changes to subspinipes(in other words, he's done his math)...but even he would happily consider rock solid, morphological evidence, I think. The thing about the antennae is the overlap in antennomere counts between the species. As far as the long terminals I've seen the same in heros and polymorpha at different life stages.

Yes, I'm still bothered by this. Can you tell? :laugh:

is this a Scolopendra aztecorum or Scolopendra polymorpha
http://www.flickr.com/photos/the_horned_jew_lizard/6131379473/

 

[zonbonzovi]

is this a Scolopendra aztecorum or Scolopendra polymorpha
http://www.flickr.com/photos/the_horned_jew_lizard/6131379473/

I don't know because the characteristics that would distinguish them can't be seen in this photo.

'polymorpha' is an unfortunate choice as a species name considering so many individual species exhibit a plethora of colors.

 

[josh_r]

I've seen a lot of polymorphas... but never one with a black head. just sayin.

And how many times in nature have we been shown that color really doesn't matter?

Just look at scolopendra heros for example... They have many different head configurations.... Black head, red head, orange head, black head with red or orange edges to the head, red head with black dot in the middle.... Head coloration does not determine difference in species.... Just sayin..

 

[myrmecophile]

https://www.biotaxa.org/em/article/view/25397/23553

 

[Galapoheros]

I'm glad somebody finally cleared this up, so far.

 

[vyadha]

https://www.biotaxa.org/em/article/view/25397/23553

Have to pay for a year subscription.... Whats the conclusion??

 

[Scoly]

Have to pay for a year subscription.... Whats the conclusion??

I'm not sure what the conclusion on this particular individual was, but:

1. Yes, S.aztecorum exists, and is different to polymorpha. It is mentioned in "Scolopendra.pdf" file in the Google Drive Greg provided you a link with the thread "Keys to Scolopendromorpha genera".
2. A number of odd looking polymorpha have been branded "Aztecorum" even though they are not
3. Colours are no indication of species, and indeed are completely ignored by taxonomists
4. Terminal shape (length/width) is also pretty variable within the same species, in some, particularly so, like S.cingulata.

And I've attached is the PDF you cannot access, not that I have access to that site, sadly.

 

[Bill S]

I was one of the first ones to bring this up back in 2010. Everyone shot me down when I said it was different and I have only found them in a couple places. I am 100% positive this is not polymorpha. The terminal legs of the young are way too long....

Absolutely correct - the terminal legs on polymorpha are definitely shorter and much heavier. And as has been pointed out above, the black head is un-polymorpha.

There are some morphs of polymorpha that are patternless, and it may be some of these that are being confused with the animals in the photos. Last summer I caught a polymorpha in my yard (near Tucson, Arizona) that was patternless gold color. I'm hoping to find a couple more of these so I can breed them - but they are only like the specimens in the photos in a very superficial way.

 

[Bill S]

'polymorpha' is an unfortunate choice as a species name considering so many individual species exhibit a plethora of colors.

Actually, that makes "polymorpha" the perfect choice as a species name, because individuals and populations do exhibit so much variation.

 

[vyadha]

Thanks!
I wasn’t sure how current the keys are. I’m heading to Baja this summer for a spearfishing trip and I’m glad I’ll have some dry land activities.