Geophilus flavus (De Geer, 1778)
Synonyms
Necrophloeophagus longicornis (Leach, 1814)
Status:
GB IUCN status: Least Concern
ID Difficulty
Identification
Ten species of Geophilus are known from Britain and Ireland.
Geophilus flavus is a large (to 45 mm) distinctly yellowish centipede with a darker reddish head, with 49 to 57 pairs of legs. It is similar in appearance to the coastal G. seurati and the south-western G. osquidatum, but lacks the carpophagus fossae on the sternites seen in these latter two species (and most other species of Geophilus).
More information to allow accurate identification is given in the published identification keys by Tony Barber (2008 & 2009).
Distribution
Geophilus flavus is a very common species across much of Ireland and Britain (but not recorded from the northern Isles of Orkney and Shetland).
Habitat
It is found in a wide array of both rural and urban habitats, including the sea-shore. It can be readily found under stones, deadwood, etc.
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/3369
BRC code
16
idBmigTaxa
Cen_141