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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Myriapods (Myriapoda) » Centipedes (Chilopoda) » Soil Centipedes (Geophilomorpha)

Order Geophilomorpha - Soil Centipedes

Classification · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Food · Works Cited
Centipede in the shower - Geophilus vittatus Long Thin Centipede - Strigamia bidens Soil Centipede - Geophilus flavus Centipede Need Caring Mother Centipede - Geophilus vittatus - female Geophilomorpha? Unknown Centipede red millipede
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Myriapoda (Myriapods)
Class Chilopoda (Centipedes)
Order Geophilomorpha (Soil Centipedes)
Numbers
the largest centipede order, with 14 families (of which 4 in our area), 180 genera, and ca. 1,100 described spp. (estimated 4,000) worldwide(1)
Size
5-195 mm(1)
Identification
Slender, rather sluggish eyeless centipedes that have 27 to 191 pairs (the number of leg pairs is always odd) of legs and 14-segmented antennae. They burrow in the substrate in a manner similar to earthworms, by elongating and contracting their bodies.(1)
Range
occur natively on all the inhabited continents; some spp. have been introduced to oceanic islands(1)
Habitat
From sea level to high elevations; several species inhabit littoral zones(1); can penetrate as deep as 70 cm into soil(2)
Food
insect larvae and worms
Works Cited
1.Shelley R.M. The myriapods, the world’s leggiest animals
2.Spiders and Their Kin: A Golden Guide from St. Martin's Press
Herbert W. Levi, Lorna R. Levi, Nicholas Strekalovsky. 2001. St. Martin's Press.
Contributed by Troy Bartlett on 16 February, 2004 - 12:31pm
Additional contributions by Lynette Elliott, v belov, KenW
Last updated 6 April, 2012 - 12:06pm

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