Login
Login

Lithobius

{{Short description|Genus of centipedes}}

{{Automatic Taxobox

| image = Steinläufer (Lithobius forficatus) 1.jpg

| image_caption = Lithobius forficatus in Germany

| taxon = Lithobius

| authority = Leach, 1814

| type_species = Scolopendra forficata

| type_species_authority = Linnaeus, 1758 {{cite journal |author=Ralph E. Crabill, Jr. |year=1955 |title=Proposed use of the plenary powers to designate for the genus Scolopendra Linnaeus, 1758, (Class Myriapoda) a type species in harmony with accustomed usage |journal=Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature |volume=11 |pages=134–136 |doi=10.5962/bhl.part.2832 |url=http://biostor.org/reference/2403|doi-access=free }}

}}

Lithobius is a large genus of centipedes in the family Lithobiidae, commonly called stone centipedes, common centipedes or brown centipedes.

Description

Most Lithobius species are typical representatives of the family Lithobiidae. They are about {{convert|2|-|5|cm|1}} long and brownish in colour. The adult's body has 18 segments, and 15 pairs of legs.{{cite book |title=The Invertebrata |publisher=Cambridge University Press |chapter=The Class Myriapoda |pages=420–426 |edition=4th |year=1961 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7FM8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA421}} The special characteristics include the dispersed openings of coxal glands of the last pair of legs.

Behaviour and ecology

Stone centipedes are found under stones or bark, in soil and decaying matter. Some are common in gardens. Lithobius forficatus is the most abundant centipede species in Europe. Like other centipedes, they are more active at night. They feed on insects and other small invertebrates. The eggs are deposited singly in soil. The lifespan can be over 3 years.

Taxonomy

The genus Lithobius was erected in 1814 by William Elford Leach, in an article published in David Brewster's Edinburgh Encyclopædia. The name derives from two Greek roots, {{lang|el|λίθος}} ({{lang|el|lithos}}, "stone") and {{lang|el|βίος}} (bio-, "life").{{cite book |author=John George Wood |author-link=John George Wood |year=1863 |title=The Illustrated Natural History |publisher=George Routledge and Sons |chapter=Myriapoda |pages=688–698 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hua8G0BmCXYC&pg=PA689}} Leach did not designate a type species, and none was selected until Pierre André Latreille chose Scolopendra forficata Linnaeus, 1758 (now Lithobius forficatus). Lithobius is the name-giving genus for the family Lithobiidae.

Lithobius is one of about 100 genera or subgenera in the subfamily Lithobiinae. It contains over 500 species and numerous subspecies. The classification of species inside the genus is a matter of discussion too. Some authors divide the genus into subgenera Eulithobius, Lithobius, Monotarsobius, Neolithobius, Pleurolithobius, Pseudolithobius, Sigibius, Thracolithobius and Troglolithobius.

=Species=

The genus Lithobius includes the following species:{{cite web |url=http://www.helsinki.fi/~mhaaramo/metazoa/protostoma/arthropoda/millipedia/chilopoda/Lithobius.html |work=Mikko's Phylogeny Archive |title=Lithobiidae: Lithobiinae: genus Lithobius |access-date=February 18, 2011 |date=December 30, 2004 |author=Mikko Haaramo}}

{{div col|colwidth=18em}}

{{div col end}}

References

{{Reflist|30em}}

External links

{{Portal|Arthropods}}

{{Commons category-inline|Lithobius|Lithobius}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q1171283}}

Category:Centipede genera

Category:Taxa named by William Elford Leach