Turk's Earth-centipede (Nothogeophilus turki)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > centipede > Centipede |
| Red List Status: | Endangered (Not Relevant) [EN(nr)] |
| D5 Status: | Included in the baseline Red List Index for England (Wilkins, Wilson & Brown, 2022) |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Nothogeophilus turki |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | Lewis, Jones & Keay, 1988 |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Lee, 2015 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Endemic to England. There have only ever been 5 records of this species from 4 locations on the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight. Has not been recorded since 1986 despite some searches some being undertaken. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Widespread species; possibly recovering from historical declines |
| Question 3: | At a landscape scale, would the species benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase habitat mosaics, structural diversity, or particular successional stages? |
| Response: | No |
| Justification: | As so little is known about this species, it is difficult to answer this question |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 2. Biological status assessment exists |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Low - Relict or natural rarity |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | This may be a more-or-less hypogeic species which only comes to the surface rarely, but the original pattern of occurrence on St. Mary’s suggests otherwise. The fact that it was recorded on that island in both the 1940s and 1980s certainly suggests an established population there and not just vagrants |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Targeted surveys at appropriate time of year of known sites to determine whether the species is still present and update the status of the species. It hasn't been recorded in England since 1986.
Action targets: 2. Biological status assessment exists
Action type: Status survey/review
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Known sites on Isles of Scilly (St Mary's and Tresco) and Isle of Wight
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: If the species is found in Action 1 undertake autecological research to establish ecology and life history.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 6-10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Sites identified in Action 1
Comments:
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Secure population centres by reducing the identified threats and resources used by the species at, at least, the two strongest population centres.
Action targets: 6. Recovery solutions trialled
Action type: Pressure mitigation
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites:
Comments:
Acknowledgment:
Data used on this website are adapted from Threatened species recovery actions 2025 baseline (JP065): Technical report and spreadsheet user guide (Natural England, 2025). Available here.