Name
Geophilus
Framing
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Myriapoda
Class: Chilopoda
Order: Geophilomorpha
Family: Geophilidae
Genus: Geophilus
Habitat
Terrestrial, endogeal
Feeding
Predator (earthworms and soil arthropods)
Distribution
Geophilomorphs are distributed on all continents except Antarctica. The genus Geophilus has Holarctic distribution (Europe, Asia, North Africa, North America)
Conservation status
Not evaluated
Additional information
Elongated, very slender body, with one pair of legs per laterally inserted segment, the last pair long and sensory. First pair of legs transformed into venom-injecting clawed appendages (forcipules) under the head. With a very high number of similar metameres; with intercalary sclerites between the tergites and consecutive sternites.
Additional information
Bibliography
- Bonato, L., Drago, L. & Murienne, J. (2014). Phylogeny of Geophilomorpha (Chilopoda) inferred from new morphological and molecular evidence. Cladistics, 30, 485-507. https://doi.org/10.1111/cla.12060
- Edgecombe, G. D. & Giribet, G.( 2007). Evolutionary biology of centipedes (Myriapoda: Chilopoda). Annual Review of Entomology, 52, 151-170. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ento.52.110405.091326
- Eisembeis, G. & Wichard, W. (1987). Atlas on the biology of soil arthropods. Springer-Verlag, Berlín.
- Giribet, G. (2015). Clase Chilopoda - Orden Geophilomorpha. Revista IDE@ - SEA, 31, 1-11. Accesible en: http://sea-entomologia.org/IDE@/revista_31.pdf