Cryptops spp.

(Order Scolopendromorpha, family Cryptopidae)

There are at least seven species of Cryptops in Tasmania. All are yellow or brown in colour and lack eyes. Adults are generally about 20 mm long.

Cryptops hortensis Donovan, 1810 (see Jeekel 1999 for background on the authorship of this species) was introduced from Europe and is known from gardens in Hobart and the Northwest. It has not been found in the bush. C. hortensis can be recognised by the groove free of setae on the underside of the last leg prefemur (see image below). A second apparently exotic Cryptops was found in a Burnie park in 1993 but has not yet been positively identified.

The remaining five Cryptops species (A - E) are native and are found in and under rotting wood and under moss, bark and stones. They occur in forest and scrub habitats from sea level to at least 1200 m. None has yet been scientifically described and the characteristic differences between the five are not easily observed. Until these species are named they are best lumped together as 'Cryptops sp.' One native Cryptops (sp. D) is known from only a few localities in the northern part of the East Coast; its conservation status is uncertain.

Localities for Cryptops spp.  Scale bar = 100 km on all maps.
For an interactive map with more up-to-date localities for C. hortensis, go to the mapper page.

More information:
 
Biology - Lewis (1981) and references therein (for Cryptops hortensis).
Distribution, conservation and general - Mesibov (1986)