The long journey of centipedes across the seas: ancient relict species, new immigrants, and diversity derived from multiple roots.

研究者情報

overview

It is said that there are over 3000 species of centipedes in the world. Among them, the genus Menaceae, which consists of minute species that live in soil, has a particularly large number of species and is a group that is widely distributed all over the world. However, since they are only rarely found in Japan, it has been shrouded in mystery how many species are distributed in the country and what their origins are.

Taro Uenishi, a doctoral course student at the Graduate School of Science (at the time of the research, currently a special research fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science), and associate professor Takafumi Nakano, conducted genetic analysis and morphological observations of specimens collected in various parts of the country, and revealed that six species of the genus Menasidus are distributed in Japan, and one of these was described as a new species. It has also been revealed that the Japanese species did not originate from a single ancestor, but from multiple lineages with different roots. This includes both species that remain from the ancient times, when the Japanese archipelago was part of the continent, and species that are thought to have migrated across the ocean in recent times, demonstrating that the diversity of soil animals has been nurtured over a wide time scale and through a complex history.

The results of this research were published online in the international academic journal "Invertebrate Systematics" on August 28, 2026.

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