Mecistocephalus gracilis

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Mecistocephalus gracilis
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Myriapoda
Class: Chilopoda
Order: Geophilomorpha
Family: Mecistocephalidae
Genus: Mecistocephalus
Species:
M. gracilis
Binomial name
Mecistocephalus gracilis
(Verhoeff, 1925)
Synonyms
  • Lamnonyx gracilisVerhoeff, 1925

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] [2]

Contents

Description

This centipede ranges from 34 mm to 39 mm in length. [1] [3] This centipede is pale with an unusually slender body that tapers toward the rear. [1] This species features 47 pairs of legs. [4] [5] The entire anterior part of the clypeus is areolate. [3] The ridges on the sternites are long and forked at the anterior end. [3] [5] The basal elements of the ultimate legs have only a few large pores. [3]

Distribution

The species occurs in the Kimberley district of far north Western Australia. [6] [3] [1]

Behaviour

The centipedes are solitary terrestrial predators that inhabit plant litter and soil. [6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Verhoeff, K.W. (1925). "Results of Dr. E. Mjöberg's Swedish Scientific Expeditions to Australia 1910-1913. 39. Chilopoda". Arkiv för Zoologi (in German). 17A (3): 1–62 [45, 47] – via HathiTrust.
  2. ↑ 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. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Attems, Carl (1929). Lfg. 52 Myriapoda, 1: Geophilomorpha (in German). De Gruyter. p. 140. doi:10.1515/9783111430638.
  4. ↑ Verhoeff, K.W. (1937). "Chilopoden aus Malacca nach den Objecten des Raffles Museum in Singapore". Bulletin of the Raffles Museum (in German). 13: 198-270 [231] – via National University of Singapore.
  5. 1 2 Attems, C. (1944). "Neue Geophilomorpha des Wiener Museums". Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien (in German). 55: 50–149 [96]. ISSN   0083-6133. JSTOR   41768466.
  6. 1 2 "Species Mecistocephalus gracilis (Verhoeff, 1925)". Australian Faunal Directory. Dept of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Australia. 2010. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
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