''Pachymerium'' is a
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of
centipede
Centipedes (from Neo-Latin , "hundred", and Latin , "foot") are predatory arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda (Ancient Greek , ''kheilos'', "lip", and Neo-Latin suffix , "foot", describing the forcipules) of the subphylum Myriapoda, ...
s in the family
Geophilidae
Geophilidae is a family of soil centipedes in the superfamily Geophiloidea and the order Geophilomorpha. In 2014, a phylogenetic analysis based on morphological and molecular data found this family to be polyphyletic. To avoid this polyphyly, ...
found mainly in the west
Palearctic
The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa.
Th ...
region and in south
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
.
Centipedes in this genus feature an elongate head, scattered coxal pores, and sternal pores in a pair of anterior groups and a posterior transverse band; the forcipular coxosternite is broad, and the ultimate article of the
forcipule
Forcipules are the modified, pincer-like, front legs of centipedes that are used to inject venom into prey. They are the only known examples of front legs acting as venom injectors.
Nomenclature
Forcipules go by a variety of names in both sci ...
has a prominent basal
denticle.
These centipedes range from about 2 cm to about 8 cm in length and have 37 to 79 pairs of legs.
The Chilean species ''
Pachymerium armatum'' measures only 20 mm in length and has only 37 leg pairs, the minimum number recorded in this genus.
The Russian species ''
P. minutum'' is also notable for its small size (only 17 mm in length) and its modest number of legs (39 pairs in each sex).
The Portuguese species ''
P. coiffaiti'' is notable for its large size (males reaching 58 mm in length, females ranging from 70 mm to 85 mm) and many legs (males with 69 pairs, females with 73 or 75).
The Cuban species ''
P. cubanum'' and the large Turkish species ''
P. serratum'' (measuring 50 mm and 78 mm in length, respectively) each can have as many as 79 leg pairs, the maximum number recorded in this genus.
This genus contains the following species:
*''
Pachymerium antipai''
Capuse, 1968
*''
Pachymerium armatum''
Silvestri, 1905
*''
Pachymerium attenuatum''
(Say)
*''
Pachymerium brevicornis''
(Lucas, 1849)
*''
Pachymerium capense''
Attems, 1947
*''
Pachymerium caucasicum''
Attems, 1903
*''
Pachymerium coiffaiti''
Demange, 1959
*''
Pachymerium cubanum''
Matic ''et al.'', 1977
*''
Pachymerium dragani''
Capuse, 1975
*''
Pachymerium escherichi''
(Verhoeff)
*''
Pachymerium ferrugineum''
(C. L. Koch, 1835)
*''
Pachymerium folkmanovae''
(Dobroruka, 1966)
*''
Pachymerium grandiceps''
(Porat, 1893)
*''
Pachymerium idium''
Chamberlin, 1960
*''
Pachymerium imbricatum''
Attems, 1934
*''
Pachymerium minutum''
(Seliwanoff, 1884)
*''
Pachymerium monticola''
Muralewicz, 1926
*''
Pachymerium multipes''
(Sseliwanoff, 1881)
*''
Pachymerium pereirai''
Shear & Peck, 1992
*''
Pachymerium pilosum''
(Meinert, 1870)
*''
Pachymerium rioindianum''
Matic ''et al.'', 1977
*''
Pachymerium serratum''
Verhoeff, 1943
*''
Pachymerium syriacum''
Attems, 1903
*''
Pachymerium tabacarui''
Capuse, 1968
*''
Pachymerium tridentatum''
Lawrence, 1960
*''
Pachymerium tristanicum''
Attems, 1928
*''
Pachymerium tyrrhenum''
Verhoeff, 1934
*''
Pachymerium zelandicum''
Attems, 1947
References
Centipede genera
Geophilomorpha
{{Centipede-stub