Worldwide revision of synanthropic silverfish (Insecta: Zygentoma: Lepismatidae) combining morphological and molecular data.

Synanthropic silverfish are the best-known and most widely distributed insects of the order Zygentoma. However, there is a great gap in the knowledge and confusion about the geographic distribution and the diagnostic characteristics that allow their identification. In this work, we provide an exhaustive and deep analysis of the most common 9 synanthropic silverfish of the world, combining previously published and newly derived morphological and molecular data. Updated descriptions of Ctenolepisma calvum (Ritter, 1910) and Ctenolepisma (Sceletolepisma) villosum (Fabricius, 1775) are included, and morphological remarks, illustrations, and photographs of the remaining synanthropic species are provided to clarify their diagnosis and differentiation among them and from other free-living species. In addition, Ctenolepisma targionii (Grassi and Rovelli, 1889) is synonymized with C. villosum. A molecular phylogeny is presented based on the COI sequences of all the synanthropic species deposited in BOLD and GenBank, with 15 new sequences provided by this study. This has allowed us to detect and correct a series of identification errors based on the lack of morphological knowledge of several species. Moreover, 2 different lineages of Ctenolepisma longicaudatumEscherich, 1905 have also been detected. To help future studies, we also provide a taxonomic interpretation guide for the most important diagnostic characters of the order Zygentoma, as well as an identification key for all the Synanthropic studied species. Finally, an approximation of the global distribution of synanthropic silverfish is discussed. Several new records indicate that the expansion of these species, generally associated with the transport of goods and people, is still far from over.

Morphological and ecological revision of Himantariella scutellaris Brolemann, 1926(Chilopoda: Geophilomorpha: Himantariidae).

Himantariella scutellaris Brolemann, 1926 has previously been considered a French endemic species from the eastern Pyrenees. New collecting data from the Spanish Pre-Pyrenees, the Prelitoral Mountain Range and the Cantabric Region, make it possible to expand its known distribution to the northern Iberian Peninsula. Intraspecific variability, habitat preferences and ethology are assessed for the first time. New figures on the morphology of H. scutellaris and identification keys for the European Himantariidae with terminal pore-fields are provided. Results showed a wider range of morphological variability than previously reported and allowed to update the diagnostic characters needed for identification. Additionally, results showed monticolous, synanthropic and nocturnal habits for the Iberian populations and suggest that H. scutellaris is a common species at a local scale. Finally, morphology and ecology of H. scutellaris from the Iberian Peninsula and the Pyrenees are discussed in depth.