Ityphilus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ityphilus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Myriapoda |
| Class: | Chilopoda |
| Order: | Geophilomorpha |
| Family: | Ballophilidae |
| Genus: | Ityphilus Cook, 1899 |
| Type species | |
| Ityphilus lilacinus Cook, 1899 | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Ityphilus is a genus of soil centipedes in the clade once accepted as the family Ballophilidae,[1][2] but now regarded as a possible subfamily (Ballophilinae) in the family Schendylidae.[3][4] This genus includes 28 species.[3] These centipedes are found mostly in tropical and subtropical parts of the Americas but also on islands in Seychelles, East Asia, and the Pacific Ocean.[1]
This genus was first described in 1899 by the American myriapodologist Orator Fuller Cook in 1899.[5] He placed this genus in the family Ballophilidae.[5] In 2014, however, a phylogenetic analysis of the order Geophilomorpha using both morphological and molecular evidence found representatives of the family Ballophilidae nested among species of the family Schendylidae. To avoid paraphyly of the family Schendylidae with respect to Ballophilidae, authorities dismissed Ballophilidae as a separate family.[4] Authorities now place this genus in the family Schendylidae instead,[3] but some references continue to place this genus in the family Ballophilidae.[2]
Description
Centipedes in this genus feature antennae that are curved or bent in the middle and thicker at the distal end. The middle of the labrum is a thin membrane without teeth.[6] The forcipular sternite features a pair of well marked but narrow sclerotized stripes (chitin lines).[6][1] The anterior part of the trunk features a field of pores that is rounded and undivided on each sternite.[6] Each of the ultimate legs features seven articles with two pores on the basal element (coxopleuron).[6][1][7]
These centipedes range from about 1 cm to about 9 cm in length and have 37 to 113 pairs of legs.[1][6] The miniature species Ityphilus grismadoi ranges from 7 to 9 mm in length and can have as few as 37 leg pairs, the minimum number recorded in the clade formerly known as Ballophilidae.[6][1] The large species I. grandis can reach 93 mm in length and have as many as 113 leg pairs, the maximum number recorded in the clade formerly known as Ballophilidae.[8][1]