Three species that inhabit Okinawa are granted Urgent Endangered Species Designation

Three species that inhabit Okinawa are granted Urgent Endangered Species Designation

Scolopendra alcyona (photograph courtesy of Fumiyasu Sato)


June 30, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

Based on the Act on the Conservation of Endangered Species, the Ministry of the Environment has granted Urgent Endangered Species Designation, for a period of three years starting on July 1, to a total of three newly-discovered species including a centipede and cockroaches that inhabit Okinawa, and has announced regulations on the capture, wounding, and transport of these species. Frequent transactions involving these species on online auctions and the like will be urgently addressed.

The species designated are Scolopendra alcyona, Eucorydia donanensis, and Eucorydia miyakoensis. Scolopendra alcyona is Japan’s largest centipede and inhabits mountain streams and the like in Okinawa Island’s northern part, Kume Island, Iriomote Island, Ishigaki Island, Tokashiki Island, and Taiwan. This new species was verified in a paper in 2020. Heretofore there were only two known examples of centipedes, worldwide, which are ecologically similar to semi-aquatic centipedes that live on land and in the water.

The two species of cockroaches feed on leaf mold and the like in forested areas. Eucorydia donanensis only lives on Yonaguni Island, and was stated as being a new species in a paper in 2020. The males of the species have a total length of 12.5-14.5 millimeters, a purple abdomen, and a yellowish red band-shaped pattern.

Eucorydia miyakoensis inhabits a portion of Miyako Island, and the males of the species have a total length of 12.5-13.0 millimeters and are characterized by an orange band. The species was just stated as being a new species in a paper made public in June this year.

The Ministry of the Environment has determined that there is a risk that the capture and selling of the three species to enthusiasts in Japan and abroad could significantly impede the survival of these species. Heretofore only five species, including Bubo bubo (the Eurasian eagle-owl), Rhagophthalmus ohbai (a type of firefly), and Luciola owadai (another type of firefly) have been granted Urgent Endangered Species Designation.

(English translation by T&CT and Erin Jones)

Eucorydia donanensis (photograph

Eucorydia miyakoensis (photograph courtesy of Shizuma Yanagisawa)

Scolopendra alcyona head (photograph courtesy of Ryukyu University Museum)

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