Ribautia | |
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Ribautia sp. | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Subphylum: | Myriapoda |
Class: | Chilopoda |
Order: | Geophilomorpha |
Family: | Geophilidae |
Genus: | Ribautia Brölemann, 1909 [1] |
Type species | |
Ribautia bouvieri Brölemann, 1909 | |
Synonyms | |
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Ribautia is a genus of centipedes in the family Geophilidae. This genus was described by French myriapodologist Henry Wilfred Brolemann in 1909. [2] Centipedes in this genus are found in South America, tropical Africa, Madagascar, the Arabian peninsula, Australia, New Zealand, and Melanesia. [3]
Centipedes in this genus feature elongate heads, elongate forcipules, mandibles with long bristles, and sternal pores in one or two paired fields; the coxosternite of the second maxillae has sclerotized ridges and peculiar anterior projections. [3] These centipedes range from about 1 cm to about 7 cm in length and can have as few as 31 or as many as 125 pairs of legs. [3] The small species Ribautia platensis , [4] found in Argentina, measures only 9 mm in length and can have as few as 31 leg pairs (31 pairs in males, 31 or 33 in females), [5] the minimum number recorded in this genus. [3] Other small species of Ribautia with notably few legs include the Peruvian species R. williamsi (known from a female specimen measuring 12 mm in length with 37 leg pairs), [6] the African species R. paucipes (reaching 15 mm in length, with 39 leg pairs in type specimens including both sexes), [7] [8] and the Brazilian species R. onycophaena (reaching 13 mm in length, with 39 leg pairs in males and 41 in females). [9] The large species R. taeniata , found in New Caledonia, can reach 75 mm in length and can have as many as 125 leg pairs (105 to 121 pairs in males, 111 to 125 in females), [10] the maximum number recorded in this genus. [3]
There are over 50 valid species, [2] including: