Geophilus Explained

Geophilus is a large, heterogeneous genus of soil centipedes in the family Geophilidae[1] largely considered to be synonymous with Brachygeophilus. The generic name first appeared in Brewster's Edinburgh Encyclopaedia in 1814 as Geophilus electricus.[2] This genus has a Holarctic distribution.

Description

This genus is characterized by a claw-shaped ultimate pretarsus, complete or nearly complete coxo-pleural sutures at the prosternum, and incomplete chitin-lines.[3] Centipedes in this genus feature slightly elongate heads and labral intermediate parts with tubercles, the forcipules are usually poorly elongate with a single small tubercle at the base of each tarsungulum, and the anterior trunk metasternites usually have an anterior medial socket and a posterior transversally elongate pore-field.

Centipedes in this genus range from about 1 cm to about 8 cm in length.[4] Several species in this genus are notable for their small sizes, including G. minimus (measuring 9.5 mm in length),[5] G. pinivagus (10 mm), G. richardi (10 mm), G. pusillus (11 mm), and G. piae (11 mm).[6] Other species are notable for their large sizes, including G. procerus (measuring 72 mm in length) and G. piedus (75 mm).[7]

Although centipedes in this genus can have as many as 89 pairs of legs (in G. caucasicus,[8] with 57 to 89 leg pairs[9]), most species in this genus have a much smaller number of legs. For example, two species in this genus include centipedes with only 29 leg pairs, the lowest number recorded in the family Geophilidae: G. persephones (29 in the only specimen, a male) and G. richardi (29 or 31 in males and 33 in females).[10] Several other species in this genus are known from specimens with notably few leg pairs in each sex, including G. ribauti (as few as 31 in males and 33 in females),[11] G. hadesi (33 in both sexes),[12] G. piae (as few as 35 in males and 37 in females),[13] G. bipartitus (35 in males and 39 in females),[14] and G. oligopus (37 or 39 in both sexes).[15]

Species

This genus is the largest in the family Geophilidae, with about 140 species:[16]

Notes and References

  1. Bonato . Lucio . Zapparoli . Marzio . Drago . Leandro . Minelli . Alessandro . 2016 . An unusually elongate endogeic centipede from Sardinia (Chilopoda: Geophilidae) . European Journal of Taxonomy . 231 . 1–19 . 10.5852/EJT.2016.231 . 58911978 . free . free . 11577/3189380.
  2. Brewster . David . 1814 . Crustaceology . Edinburgh Encyclopaedia . 7 . 2 . 409 . 10.5962/bhl.title.30911 . 16 December 2021 . free.
  3. 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 . 24 October 2021 . Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  4. Book: Bonato . Lucio . The Myriapoda. Volume 1 . Edgecombe . Gregory D. . Zapparoli . Marzio . 2011 . Brill . 2011 . 978-90-04-18826-6 . Minelli . Alessandro . Leiden . 363–443 [414] . Chilopoda – Taxonomic overview . 812207443.
  5. Book: Attems, Carl . Lfg. 52 Myriapoda, 1: Geophilomorpha . De Gruyter . 1929 . 978-3-11-143063-8 . Attems . Karl . 200, 325, 355 . de . 10.1515/9783111430638.
  6. Bonato . Lucio . Minelli . Alessandro . Drago . Leandro . Pereira . Luis Alberto . 2015-09-25 . The phylogenetic position of Dinogeophilus and a new evolutionary framework for the smallest epimorphic centipedes (Chilopoda: Epimorpha) . Contributions to Zoology . 84 . 3 . 237–253 [249] . 10.1163/18759866-08403004 . 1875-9866. 11577/3146565 . free .
  7. Chamberlin . Ralph V. . 1930 . On some centipeds and millipeds from Utah and Arizona . Pan-Pacific Entomologist . 6 . 3 . 111-121 [114] . Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  8. Web site: Bonato . L. . Chagas Junior . A. . Edgecombe . G.D. . Lewis . J.G.E. . Minelli . A. . Pereira . L.A. . Shelley . R.M. . Stoev . P. . Zapparoli . M. . 2016 . Geophilus caucasicus Sseliwanoff, 1884 . 2024-01-20 . ChiloBase 2.0 - A World Catalogue of Centipedes (Chilopoda).
  9. Bonato . Lucio . Iorio . Étienne . Minelli . Alessandro . 2011 . The centipede genus Clinopodes C. L. Koch, 1847 (Chilopoda, Geophilomorpha, Geophilidae): reassessment of species diversity and distribution, with a new species from the Maritime Alps (France) . Zoosystema . en . 33 . 2 . 175–205 [184] . 10.5252/z2011n2a3 . 1280-9551.
  10. 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 . en . 53 . 13 . 163–185 . 10.1590/S0031-10492013001300001 . free . 11336/3449 . free .
  11. Iorio . Etienne . Labroche . Aurélien . 2015 . Les chilopodes (Chilopoda) de la moitié nord de la France: toutes les bases pour débuter l'étude de ce groupe et identifier facilement les espèces . Invertébrés Armoricains . French . 13 . 1–108 [65].
  12. 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 . en . 510 . 95–114 . 10.3897/zookeys.510.9614 . 4523767 . 26257537. free .
  13. Minelli . Alessandro . 1982 . On Sardinian centipedes (Chilopoda) . Bolletino di Zoologia . en . 49 . 1–2 . 1–16 . 10.1080/11250008209439365 . free .
  14. Takakuwa . Yosioki . 1937 . The Geophilus-species of Japan . Zoological Magazine, Tokyo . Japanese . 49 . 8 . 282–286 . 1 February 2022 . NDL Digital Collections.
  15. Stojanović . Dalibor Z. . Mitić . Bojan M. . Gedged . Amna M. . Antić . Dragan Ž . Makarov . Slobodan E. . 2019-08-23 . Geophilus serbicus sp. nov., a new species from the Balkan Peninsula (Chilopoda: Geophilomorpha: Geophilidae) . Zootaxa . en . 4658 . 3 . 556–570 [561] . 10.11646/zootaxa.4658.3.7 . 1175-5334.
  16. Web site: Geophilus Leach, 1814 . ChiloBase 2.0 . 1 February 2022.

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