Pachymerium caucasicum is a species of centipede in Geophilidae family. It was described by Carl Attems in 1903 and is endemic to the European part of Turkey. Males of this species have 47 pairs of legs; females have 49 pairs of legs. Some authorities deem P. caucasicum to be a junior synonym of P. ferrugineum.
Pachymerium tabacarui is a species of centipede in Geophilidae family that is endemic to Romania. The original description of this species is based on a female specimen from the Carpathians measuring 15 mm in length with 53 pairs of legs. Some authorities consider this description consistent with a juvenile specimen of P. ferrugineum and therefore deem P. tabacarui to be a junior synonym of that species. Extensive investigations in the Carpathian region have failed to collect any more specimens.
The Geophilidae are a polyphyletic, cosmopolitan family of soil centipedes in the superfamily Geophiloidea containing the mostly defunct clades Aphilodontidae, Dignathodontidae, Linotaeniidae, Chilenophilinae, and Macronicophilidae.
Geophilus is a large, heterogeneous genus of soil centipedes in the family Geophilidae largely considered to be synonymous with Brachygeophilus. 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. Centipedes in this genus range from 1 cm to 8 cm in length. The generic name first appeared in Brewster's Edinburgh Encyclopaedia in 1814 as Geophilus electricus.
Aphilodontidae is a monophyletic clade of soil centipedes in the family Geophilidae found in South America and South Africa. These centipedes are closely related to Geoperingueyia and characterized by shieldlike setae on the front of the head, lateral parts of the flattened cuticle above the mouthparts, and combined forcipular trochanteroprefemur and femur. The number of legs in this clade varies within species and ranges from 35 to 87 pairs of legs.
Geophilus electricus is a species of soil centipede in the family Geophilidae found across temperate Europe, especially Britain and Ireland. Originally discovered and named Scolopendra electrica in 1758, it was later moved to its own genus, Geophilus. As the first species described in this genus, it is considered by some to be the type species. It is yellowish-orange in color and can grow up to 45 millimeters, with 55 to 75 leg pairs, a distinct carpophagus fossae on the anterior sternites, and a distinctive arrangement of the coxal pores of the last leg pair. Like many geophilomorphans, G. electricus has been known to glow in the dark, most likely as a defensive maneuver.
Acanthogeophilus spiniger is a species of soil centipede in the family Geophilidae found in Northwest Africa. The original description of this species is based on a male specimen measuring 27 mm in length with 71 pairs of legs. It was first assigned to the genus Geophilus, but was moved to Acanthogeophilus in 1999 by Foddai and Minelli. Like other species in its genus, it is characterized by incomplete chitin lines, complete coxopleural sutures, stout legs, and a claw-like pretarsus.
Geophilus proximus is a species of soil centipede in the family Geophilidae found in the northern part of the Palearctic and widespread across the entire Baltic basin, though it reaches as far as the Arctic Circle and has been introduced through human agency to northern, central, and eastern parts of Kazakhstan. It was recorded once with certainty in Britain from Unst in the Shetland Islands; distribution in the rest of Europe is difficult to assess because of frequent misidentifications of the species. Populations from northern Europe are mostly parthenogenetic.
Geophilus aenariensis is a species of soil centipede in the family Geophilidae found in the southern Italian Peninsula. It has a body length of up to 22 millimeters, around 47 leg pairs in females and 51 in males, an absence of anal pores and bristles on the lateral part of the labrum, a distinct carpophagus pit, a small but pointed pretarsus of the second maxillae, and 3-5 coxal pores in each coxopleuron with no isolated coxal pores.
Geophilus gavoyi is a species of soil centipede in the family Geophilidae. It is closely related to both Geophilus aetnensis and its junior synonym G. evisensis; it's considered by some to be a synonym of G. evisensis. It's found under stones in northern Asia and western Europe, especially France and England. It grows to between 23-35 millimeters in length and has between 39–43 leg pairs in males and 41–45 in females. In the since debunked elongata subspecies it was said to vary from between 49-55 leg pairs in males and between 51-57 in females. As described in 1964, it has well-developed sternal grooves, longer legs than G. aetnensis, and normal claws in the anal legs.
Geophilus aetnensis is a species of soil centipede in the family Geophilidae found in Europe and northern Asia, excluding China. As described by Verhoeff in 1928, it grows up to 28 millimeters and has 53 leg pairs, 4 sensory setae each on the 2nd-4th front sternites, slightly notched maxillae, and very faint sternal pits on the thorax as well as poorly developed sternal grooves.
Geophilus osquidatum is a species of soil centipede in the family Geophilidae found in western Europe, from mainland Spain through western France to Britain and Ireland, though it's also been recorded in Italy, Czech Republic, and Germany. Males of this species have 51 to 57 pairs of legs; females have 53 to 63 leg pairs. This species grows up to 30 millimeters and is bright yellow with a darker reddish head. Because of this, it's often confused with G. flavus and G. gracilis. Its subspecies, G. osquidatum porosum, was found synonymous with G. flavus. In Britain, G. osquidatum is found in a wide range of habitats including woodland, grassland, and coastal shingle as well as gardens and waste ground.
Geophilus mordax, also called the pitted soil centipede, is a species of soil centipede in the family Geophilidae found in North America, especially Indiana, Arkansas, Louisiana, North and South Carolina, and Florida. It grows up to 50 millimeters in length, though it averages 25–40, has 49–53 leg pairs in males and 49–57 in females, and is bright red in color. G. mordax also bears 3–5 labral teeth, a short and robust apical claw of the second maxillae, an exposed prebasal plate, and a large, consolidated sacculi.
Geophilus richardi is a species of soil centipede in the family Geophilidae found in France, Italy, and the Ionian Islands. Females of this species have 33 pairs of legs; males have 29 or 31. This species is one of only two in the family Geophilidae to include centipedes with as few as 29 leg pairs. This species grows up to 10 millimeters long, has no carpophagus pit or pore-fields, and has a gradually tapering, curved pretarsus of the second maxillae. G. richardi lacks typical ventral pores between 2–4mm. The sternites instead bear a small number of pores between 0.5–1mm that differ from micropores, which are unbounded by a cuticular ring. These are possibly the remnants of typical ventral pores, their smaller size being a byproduct of overall miniaturization.
Geophilus truncorum is a species of soil centipede in the family Geophilidae found across Western Europe, though it reaches as far as Poland, Italy, and Morocco. This centipede is relatively small, growing up to 20mm in length, with a yellow or orangeish brown body and dark yellow or brown head, denser and shorter hair than most Geophilus species, a main plate almost as elongated as in G. flavus (115:100), and distinct carpophagus fossae on the anterior sternites. Males of this species have 35 to 41 pairs of legs; females have 37 to 41.
Geophilus pusillus is a species of soil centipede in the family Geophilidae found in Algeria. It grows up to 11 millimeters in length. The original description of this species is based on ten specimens: five male specimens from Algeria with 31 pairs of legs, and five specimens from Germany. Records from the Alpstein mountains indicate that G. pusillus is a soil-dwelling species that prefers humus-rich soil, but these records deserve confirmation. Some authorities consider the specimens recorded from Europe to be specimens of G. ribauti that have been misidentified as specimens of the Algerian species G. pusillus.
Geophilus punicus is a species of soil centipede in the family Geophilidae found in the Western Mediterranean, specifically Italy and North Africa (Tunisia). It's an epigeic species, though its habitat preferences are unknown apart from one record from caves, indicating it may also be a trogloxene. The original description of this species is based on male specimens with 43 pairs of legs.
Geophilus bobolianus is a species of soil centipede in the family Geophilidae found in France and Italy. This species has 45 to 51 pairs of legs. It was originally classified as a subspecies of G. longicornis identified by its lack of anterior sternal pores.
Geophilus bosniensis is a species of soil centipede in the family Geophilidae endemic to Bosnia and Herzegovina. It grows up to 30 millimeters and has 75 leg pairs, as well as sternites unseparated in the median but with a suture line, and sternal pore areas in the trunk segments only. Overall, the identity and phyletic position of this centipede are uncertain.
Geophilus erzurumensis is a species of soil centipede in the family Geophilidae found only in Erzurum, Turkey, which it is named after.
