Biogeographia – The Journal of Integrative Biogeography

Akymnopellis chilensis (Gervais, 1847) (Scolopendridae, Scolopendromorpha, Chilopoda), a centipede species endemic to Chile, plays a crucial role in soil ecosystems, but its distribution is still poorly studied. This study aims to predict its potential distribution using three variables sets to build two species distribution models (SDM). We ask: (1) which climatic and environmental variables best explain the distribution of this species, and (2) whether its predicted potential range extends beyond the currently known records. MaxEnt and Random Forest algorithms were performed using three sets of environmental variables: (1) core climate variables, (2) annual temperature and precipitation, and (3) seasonality of temperature and precipitation. All models showed good predictive performance (AUC > 0.92 in all cases) with high AUC values. Species distribution modelling in Chile is centred primarily between 30° and 40° S latitude. The results indicate that current records could underestimate its true distribution, and further studies are needed to validate the models.