Geophilus longicornis Leach, 1815

(Order Geophilomorpha, family Geophilidae)

Check:
 
(a)  49-57 leg-pairs, usually 53 or 55
(b)  coxopleural suture oblique and incomplete
(c)  small tooth at base of poison claw, none on femuroid
(d)  6-10 large pores in 2 close rows on last leg coxopleuron, partly hidden by last sternite.

Left:  Head, dorsal view.
Centre:  Maxillipedes, ventral view, showing tooth (t) on poison claw.
Top right:  Last segments, ventral view.
Bottom right:  Head, left lateral view, showing coxopleural suture (cs).

A widespread species in Europe, G. longicornis has been introduced into North America and Australia. The earliest Tasmanian specimen I've seen is dated 1959. G. longicornis is common in gardens and waste places in the Hobart area, where it grows to a length of ca. 35 mm. It is likely to have been introduced elsewhere in Tasmania.

Localities for G. longicornis.  Scale bar = 100 km.
For an interactive map with more up-to-date localities, go to the mapper page.

More information:
 
Biology - Lewis (1981) and references therein (as Necrophloeophagus longicornis).

Photograph by S.M. Manton, reproduced by permission of Frederick Warne & Co.