Geophilus

Geophilus is a large, heterogeneous genus of soil centipedes in the family Geophilidae[1][2] largely considered to be synonymous with Brachygeophilus.[3] It is a mostly holarctic genus characterized by a claw-shaped ultimate pretarsus, anterior porefields, complete or nearly complete coxo-pleural sutures at the prosternum, and incomplete chitin-lines.[4] The generic name first appeared in Brewster's Edinburgh Encyclopaedia in 1814 as Geophilus electricus.[5]

Geophilus
Geophilus sp.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Myriapoda
Class: Chilopoda
Order: Geophilomorpha
Family: Geophilidae
Genus: Geophilus
Leach, 1814

Although centipedes in this genus can have as many as 89 pairs of legs, most species have a much smaller number of leg pairs.[2] For example, two species in this genus include centipedes with only 29 pairs of legs, the lowest number found in the family Geophilidae: G. persephones (29 pairs in the only specimen, a male) and G. richardi (29 or 31 pairs in males and 33 pairs in females).[6] This genus also includes other species with notably few legs, for example, G. hadesi (33 pairs in both males and females)[7] and G. piae (35 pairs in males and 37 pairs in females).[8]

Species

The genus contains the following species:[1][3]

References
  1. "Geophilus Leach, 1814". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  2. Bonato, Lucio; Zapparoli, Marzio; Drago, Leandro; Minelli, Alessandro (2016). "An unusually elongate endogeic centipede from Sardinia (Chilopoda: Geophilidae)" (PDF). European Journal of Taxonomy (231): 1–19. doi:10.5852/EJT.2016.231. S2CID 58911978.
  3. "Geophilus Leach, 1814". ChiloBase 2.0. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  4. Crabill, Ralph E. (1954). "A conspectus of the northeastern North American species of Geophilus (Chilopoda Geophilomorpha Geophilidae)". Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 56: 172–188. Retrieved 24 October 2021 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  5. Brewster, David (1814). "Crustaceology". Edinburgh Encyclopaedia. 7 (2): 409. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.30911. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  6. Pereira, Luis Alberto (2013-01-01). "Discovery of a second geophilomorph species (Myriapoda: Chilopoda) having twenty-seven leg-bearing segments, the lowest number recorded up to the present in the centipede order Geophilomorpha". Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia. 53 (13): 163–185. doi:10.1590/S0031-10492013001300001.
  7. Stoev, Pavel; Akkari, Nesrine; Komericki, Ana; Edgecombe, Gregory; Bonato, Lucio (2015-06-30). "At the end of the rope: Geophilus hadesi sp. n. – the world's deepest cave-dwelling centipede (Chilopoda, Geophilomorpha, Geophilidae)". ZooKeys. 510: 95–114. doi:10.3897/zookeys.510.9614. PMC 4523767. PMID 26257537.
  8. Minelli, Alessandro (1982). "On Sardinian centipedes (Chilopoda)". Bolletino di Zoologia. 49 (1–2): 1–16. doi:10.1080/11250008209439365.
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