Myriapods (Arthropoda, Myriapoda) in the Pantanal of Poconé, Mato Grosso, Brazil

Abstract

Abstract: The Brazilian Pantanal biome is one of the largest and most important floodplains in the world by virtue of its biodiversity and indispensable ecological services on local, regional, and global scales. Despite this importance, many gaps remain concerning its biodiversity as well as its generation and maintenance mechanisms. In view of expanding the information about its biological diversity, we compiled a list of Myriapoda (Arthropoda) species occurring in the Pantanal of Poconé, Mato Grosso, Brazil, based on the records from literature and on the specimens available in the zoological collections of Federal University of Mato Grosso -UFMT. A total of 33 Myriapoda species were recorded in the region. The Diplopoda species (20 spp.; 60.6%) are distributed 'between four orders: Polydesmida, represented by five families (Chelodesmidae, notably, with three species; Paradoxosomatidae and Pyrgodesmidae, with two species each; and Cyrtodesmidae and Fuhrmannodesmidae, with one species each, recently recorded in the region); Spirostreptida, represented by Spirostreptidae, with eight species; Spirobolida, with two species (one Rhinocricidae and one not identified); and Polyxenida. The Chilopoda (10 spp.; 30.3%) belong to three orders: Scolopendromorpha, with four species of the family Scolopendridae, two Scolopocryptopidae species, and one Cryptopidae species; Geophilomorpha, with the families Aphilodontidae and Schendylidae, with one species each; and Lithobiomorpha, with one Henicopidae species. Symphyla was represented by only two species (6.1%) of the family Scutigerellidae; and Pauropoda (3.0%) by a single species of Pauropodidae. The Myriapoda species richness, as well as the high number of new records in recent studies reinforce the importance of the northern region of the Pantanal biome as a diversity center with potential priority for measures aimed at the conservation of its many habitats.