''Geophilus varians'' is a
species of
soil centipede
Centipedes (from New Latin , "hundred", and Latin , "foot") are predatory arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda (Ancient Greek , ''kheilos'', lip, and New Latin suffix , "foot", describing the forcipules) of the subphylum Myriapoda, an a ...
in the
family Geophilidae
The Geophilidae are a polyphyletic, cosmopolitan family of soil centipedes in the superfamily Geophiloidea containing the mostly defunct clades Aphilodontidae, Dignathodontidae, Linotaeniidae, Chilenophilinae, and Macronicophilidae. Species in ...
found in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
, particularly from
South Carolina to
Indiana,
Ohio,
Pennsylvania, and
Virginia. It grows up to 40 millimeters, though it averages 30–35, ranges in color from light faded orange to yellow or whitish yellow with a deeper and brighter head, and has 53–59 leg pairs in males and 55–61 in females, as well as a complete lack of consolidated paxilli and sacculi (sensory organs in the antennae of certain insects), concealed prebasal plate, and unusually long ultimate legs.
References
varians
Animals described in 1887
Arthropods of North America
{{Myriapoda-stub