Geophilus impressus C.L. Koch, 1847
Synonyms
- Geophilus insculptus Attems, 1895
- Geophilus alpinus Meinert, 1870
Status:
GB IUCN status: Least Concern
ID Difficulty
Identification
Ten species of Geophilus are known from Britain and Ireland.
Geophilus impressus is the species formerly known as Geophilus insculptus (as used by the identification keys of Barber, 2008 & 2009) and subsequently Geophilus alpinus.
It is yellowish-orange centipede (to 40 mm length) with distinct carpophagus fossae on the anterior sternites. The combination of 45 to 53 leg pairs and the presence of an 'isolated coxal pore' on the last leg pair is distinctive.
More information to allow accurate identification is given in the published identification keys by Tony Barber (2008 & 2009).
Distribution
Geophilus impressus is a very common species across much of Ireland and Britain, including Orkney and Shetland.
Habitat
It is found in a wide array of habitats, including woodland, grassland, gardens, churchyards and on the coast, where it is most easily found under stones and dead wood.
This account is based on the 'Centipede Atlas' (Barber, 2022).
Links
ChiloBase 2.0 - World Catalogue of Centipedes: https://chilobase.biologia.unipd.it/searches/result_species/2989
BRC code
16
idBmigTaxa
Cen_142