Mecistocephalus gracilis explained

Mecistocephalus gracilis is a species of centipede in the Mecistocephalidae family. It is endemic to Australia, and was first described in 1925 by German myriapodologist Karl Wilhelm Verhoeff.^[1]

Description

This species ranges from 34 mm to 39 mm in length^[2] and has 47 pairs of legs.^[3]

Distribution

The species occurs in the Kimberley district of far north Western Australia.^[4]

Behaviour

The centipedes are solitary terrestrial predators that inhabit plant litter and soil.^[4]

Notes and References

1. 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 . ChiloBase 2.0 . A World Catalogue of Centipedes (Chilopoda) . Rosario Dioguardi and Giuseppe Cortese, University of Padua. 3 March 2023.
2. Book: Attems, Carl . Lfg. 52 Myriapoda, 1: Geophilomorpha . De Gruyter . 1929 . 978-3-11-143063-8 . 140 . de . 10.1515/9783111430638.
3. Verhoeff . K.W. . 1937 . Chilopoden aus Malacca nach den Objecten des Raffles Museum in Singapore . Bulletin of the Raffles Museum . German . 13 . 198-270 [231] . National University of Singapore.
4. Web site: Species Mecistocephalus gracilis (Verhoeff, 1925). . 2010. Australian Faunal Directory . Dept of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Australia . 3 March 2023.