Lamyctes emarginatus (Newport, 1844)
Synonyms
Lamyctes fulvicornis Meinert, 1868
Status:
- GB IUCN status: Not applicable (non-native)
- GB rarity status: Naturalised
ID Difficulty
Identification
Lamyctes are small centipedes with 15 leg pairs (fewer in larval stages) and look very similar to Lithobius.
Lamyctes emarginatus is a small brown species (to 10 mm long) with a single prominent ommatidia on each side of the head (at least 3 in Lithobius) and lacking stout leg spines (present in Lithobius species). The antennae typically have about 25 articles.
A very similar species, Lamyctes africanus, has been recorded twice in the UK and may be over-looked in synanthropic habitats in the UK. This typically has c. 28 antennal articles.
More information to allow accurate identification is given in the published identification keys by Tony Barber (2008 & 2009).
Distribution
Lamyctes emarginatus is very widely recorded throughout Britain, including Orkney and Shetland, and throughout Ireland.
This species is native to the Australasia, but has been spread worldwide.
Habitat
It can be found in both semi-natural and synanthropic sites in a wide variety of (often damp) habitats, including grassland, wetland, river-side gravels, waste ground and arable fields.
It is an annual species and often recorded in late summer (when other centipedes tend to be more elusive).
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/883
BRC code
20
idBmigTaxa
Cen_157