Geophilidae
Geophilus flavus, the Netherlands
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Chilopoda
Order:	Geophilomorpha
Suborder:	Adesmata
Superfamily:	Geophiloidea
Family:	Geophilidae Leach, 1815 [1]
Synonyms[2]
Chilenophilidae Sogonidae

Geophilus sp. mother and brood.

The Geophilidae are a polyphyletic, cosmopolitan family of soil centipedes in the superfamily Geophiloidea^[3] containing the mostly defunct clades Aphilodontidae,^[4] Dignathodontidae,^[5] Linotaeniidae,^[6] Chilenophilinae,^[7] and Macronicophilidae.^[8]

Description

Species in this family are characterized by mandibles with a single pectinate lamella, slender antennae, sternal pores with variable arrangement, a generally slightly or moderately elongate head, frequently undivided coxosternite with two paramedian sclerotized lines, claws without rows of filament, and female gonopods usually being an undivided lamina.^[9]

Compared to most other families in the suborder Adesmata, this family features a modest number of leg-bearing segments and limited variation in this number within each species.^[10] Two European species in this family include centipedes with only 29 pairs of legs: Geophilus persephones (29 in the only specimen, a male), and G. richardi (29 or 31 in males and 33 in females).^[11][12] In the order Geophilomorpha, only two species include centipedes with fewer leg pairs, both of them in the family Schendylidae.^[11] Several other species in this family are known from specimens with notably few leg pairs in each sex, including Ribautia platensis (as few as 31 in each sex),^[13] G. hadesi (33 in each sex),^[14] Schendyloides alacer (as few as 33 in each sex),^[15] and Strigamia sibirica (as few as 33 in each sex).^[16]

Genera

This family contains these genera:^[1]

References