Tasmanian Centipedes

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Lithobius microps Meinert, 1868

(Order Lithobiomorpha, family Lithobiidae)

L. microps

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(a)  about 25 antennomeres
(b)  3 eyes in a row, as shown below
(c)  2+2 teeth on coxosternite
(d)  mainly 1 large spine at distal end of some leg segments only
(e)  legs 14 and 15 distinctly thicker than all others
(f)  typically 2-3 round coxal pores on legs 12-15.

L. microps eyesL. microps legs

Left:  Head, lateral view, showing eyes (arrows).
Centre:  Right leg 12 (top) and 13 (bottom), anterior view.
Right:  Right leg 14 (top) and 15 (bottom), anterior view.

L. microps rarely grows longer than 10 mm and is brown with yellowish legs. It is a European species, first recorded in Tasmania in the 1970s. L. microps is not uncommon in gardens and is more widespread than indicated on the map below. The central western record on the map is from a much-disturbed site near Lake St Clair. Unlike L. peregrinus, L. microps has not yet been found in undisturbed bush.

(Some) localities for L. microps.  Scale bar = 100 km.
For an interactive map with more up-to-date localities, go to the mapper page.

map

More information:
 
Distribution, conservation and general - Mesibov (1986)