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only one other species, P. orientis (Chamberlin, 1952), found in Greece and west-
ern Turkey (Zapparoli and Minelli, 1993). P. patriarchalis is a thermophilous
species, quoted in Italy from sites between sea level and 250m elevation, in open
habitat or in sderophyllous Mediterranean forests (Minelli and Iovane, 1987;
Zapparoli and Minelli, 1993). In other regions ofits geographic range this species
is found at 1,000-1,400 m elevation (e.g., Bulgaria, 1,000 m: Stoev, 2002; con-
tinental Greece, 1,400 m: Zapparoli, 2002), where it also colonizes mixed and
pure broad-leaf and montane and sub-montane conifer forests. The presence of
P. patriarchalis in the centrai Apennines is rather marginai, asi t has been record-
ed only in a single locality at the southern border of the studied area.

Western component

The group of species with a western distribution is larger. It includes both
rather localized elements, only known in the studied area in few localities at
low elevation, and species with a wider distribution. Among the more local-
ized species is Scolopendra oraniensis (Fig. 3), belonging to the S. canidens
Newport, 1844 group, induding five species ranging in the Mediterranean
basin. S. oraniensis is present in North Mrica, the Iberian Peninsula (includ-
ing the Balearic Islands), Corsica, Malta, Sicily, Sardinia and peninsular Italy,
where it has a discontinuous distribution in the Tyrrhenian regions from
Liguria to Calabria, in Basilicata and Puglia (Wtirmli, 1980). It is a ther-
mophilous species, inhabiting open or sderophyllous forests habitats, mostly
from sea level to 600-700 m, reaching in Sicily near 1,500 m above sea level
(Minelli and Iovane, 1987). The only known populations in centrai Italy are
found along the Tyrrhenian side, in Tuscany (Uccellina Mountains) and in
Lazio (Tolfa, Circeo, Mounts Ausoni-Aurunci).
Stigmatogaster dimidiatus is also a rather localized species in the studied area,
widespread in Macaronesia, N orth Mrica, the Iberian peninsula (including the
Balearic Islands), south-western France and Italy, where it has been reported in
a few localities in Piedmont, Liguria, Lazio, Abruzzo, Campania, and Sicily
(induding the Egadi, Pantelleria and Lampedusa islands). Its habitat prefer-
ences are not well known, but it is likely a thermophilous species. In centrai
Italy it is only found in two sites, in Lazio (Mount Soratte, in the province of
Rome) and in Abruzzo (Civitella Alfedena, in the province ofL'Aquila).
Only a few findings have been reported for Henia brevis, which is distrib-
uted in southern France (Maritimes Alps), south-western Germany and Italy.
In Italy, this species is widely distributed in the north-western regions, and
sporadically distributed in the peninsular and insular regio ns. In centrai Italy,
there are only four records in mid and low altitude areas ofTuscany, Umbria
and Lazio.

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