Lithobius crassipes L. Koch, 1862
Synonyms
Lithobius (Monotarsobius) crassipes L. Koch, 1862
Status:
GB IUCN status: Least Concern
ID Difficulty
Identification
Lithobius is a difficult genus and at least 17 species are known from Britain and Ireland.
This is one of seven 'smaller species' with 2 + 2 forcipular teeth that lack backward projections on tergites 9, 11 and 13. Lithobius crassipes is one of two species with the antennae composed of c. 20 articles (the other being L. curtipes). Males are readily differentiated from L. curtipes by the lack of projection on the last legs, but the two species also differ in the arrangement of their ommatida.
More information to allow accurate identification is given in the published identification keys by Tony Barber (2008 & 2009).
Distribution
Although very common across much of Britain, it appears to be absent from much of south-west of England and rare in southern parts of Ireland.
Habitat
It can be found in a wide array of mainly rural habitats and is rarely recorded in urban sites, usually under stones and dead wood or among leaf-litter.
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/1688
BRC code
19
idBmigTaxa
Cen_175