Geophilus algarum
{{Short description|Species of centipede}}
{{Speciesbox
| taxon = Geophilus algarum
| authority = Brölemann, 1909
}}
Geophilus algarum is a species of centipede in the family Geophilidae found in the littoral zone on the French Atlantic and Channel Coasts.{{cite journal |last1=Barber |first1=Anthony D. |title=Littoral myriapods: a review |journal=Soil Organisms |date=2009 |volume=81 |issue=3 |pages=735–760 |url=https://www.senckenberg.de/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/33_barber.pdf |access-date=3 November 2021}}{{cite web |title=Geophilus algarum Brölemann, 1909 |url=http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=105489#attributes |website=World Resister of Marine Species |access-date=3 November 2021}} It has one subspecies, G. algarum var. decipiens, which can be identified by lack of a dorsal coxal pore. The male of this species has 53 pairs of legs; females have 53 to 59.{{Cite book |last=Brolemann |first=H.W. |url=https://www.faunedefrance.org/bibliotheque/docs/H.W.BROLEMANN(FdeFr25)Myriapodes-Chilopodes.pdf |title=Élements d'une faune de France – Chilopodes |publisher=Imprimerie Toulousaine |year=1930 |pages=171 |language=French}} This species can reach 35 mm in length.
Taxonomy
G. algarum shares several characteristics with both G. fucorum and G. gracilis, leading some to believe that the three are a single polytypic species consisting of highly individual subspecies. G. algarum is differentiated from the other two centipedes by having two labral teeth, a clear clypeal area, 8–12 prehensorial teeth, three ventral (posterior) and one dorsal coxal pore, and a well-developed claw of the anal leg.{{cite journal |last1=Lewis |first1=J.G.E |title=The Ecology, Taxonomy, and Distribution of the Centipedes Found on the Shore in the Plymouth Area |journal=Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom |date=1962 |volume=42 |issue=3 |pages=655–664 |doi=10.1017/S0025315400054333 |url=http://plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/2174/1/The_ecology,_distribution_and_taxonomy_of_the_centipedes_found_on_the_shore_in_the_Plymouth_area.pdf |access-date=3 November 2021}}