Henia brevis (Silvestri, 1896)
Synonyms
- Chaetechelyne montana oblongocribellata Verhoeff, 1898
- Henia (Pseudochaetechelyne) brevis (Silvestri,1896)
Status:
- GB IUCN status: Least Concern
- GB rarity status: Nationally Scarce
ID Difficulty
Identification
Henia brevis is a small pallid centipede (to 19 mm) with 53-57 pairs of legs and with the last pair of legs of characteristic shape and bearing a claw (see images to right).
It bears a passing resemblance to Schendyla dentata (which occurs in similar habitats), but has many more leg pairs and lacks the diagnostic forciples of that species.
More information to allow accurate identification is given in the published identification keys by Tony Barber (2008 & 2009).
Distribution
There are scattered records of Henia brevis across southern England and Ireland, where it is usually found in urban or sub-urban sites, such as gardens and churchyards. Targeted surveys of churchyards in Oxfordshire in the 1990s found it to be widespread across the county (Gregory & Campbell, 1996, pg.30).
Habitat
It is usually found in urban or sub-urban sites, such as gardens and churchyards, typically in spring or early summer (Gregory, 2010). This is an elusive species, with single specimens typically found on the underside of, or among soil beneath, large stones partly embedded in soil.
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/3142
BRC code
14
idBmigTaxa
Cen_149