| Orphnaeus brevilabiatus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Myriapoda |
| Class: | Chilopoda |
| Order: | Geophilomorpha |
| Family: | Oryidae |
| Genus: | Orphnaeus |
| Species: | O. brevilabiatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Orphnaeus brevilabiatus (Newport, 1845) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Orphnaeus brevilabiatus is a species of centipede in the family Oryidae. [1] [2]
Adult specimens are typically 60–65 mm long, yellowish-orange in colour and ca. 1 mm wide at the head. [3] Females can have from 73 to 85 pairs of legs, whereas males can have from 67 to 77 pairs, most often 73 pairs. [4] A specimen from Madagascar with even fewer legs (53 pairs, sex not reported) [5] features the minimum number recorded in the family Orydae. [6]
It is a littoral myriapod that can be found throughout sublittoral zones of Indian and East Pacific countries, [7] including Taiwan and Japan, in particular the Okinawan, Yaeyama and Miyama islands, where it is listed as a threatened local population. [3] It has been introduced to south-west Western Australia. [8]
The species is one of several bioluminescent centipede genera currently known. [3] Upon direct chemical, thermal and physical stimulation, the centipede secretes a clear, but bioluminescent slime from pores in its sternal defense glands, supposedly a form of aposematism. [9] While several genera display this form of bioluminescence, utilising the typical oxygen-dependent luciferin-luciferase reaction, this example is noteworthy due to the low, narrow pH range of the reaction, and the relatively long period of emission. [10]