''Diphyonyx'' 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 soil centipedes in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

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 in the

Palearctic region 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. The ...

. They are notable for the unusually shaped claws on the anterior part of the trunk, which are swollen and have anterior spurs enlarged into elongate projections. Centipedes in this genus have a forcipular coxosternite with a pair of anterior

tubercle In anatomy, a tubercle (literally 'small tuber', Latin for 'lump') is any round nodule, small eminence, or warty outgrowth found on external or internal organs of a plant or an animal. In plants A tubercle is generally a wart-like projectio ...

s and feature no sternal pores. Most coxal organs open into a single pit on each coxopleuron. These centipedes range from 4 cm to 6 cm in length and have 65 to 81 pairs of legs.

Etymology

From Ancient Greek “diphyés” meaning "of double nature", and “ónyx, ónychos” meaning "claw", referring to the bipartite shape of the pretarsus of the legs on the anterior part of the trunk.

Species

Species in this genus include: * '' Diphyonyx conjungens'' (Verhoeff 1898) * '' Diphyonyx garutti'' (Folkmanová and Dobroruka, 1960) * ''

Diphyonyx sukacevi ''Diphyonyx sukacevi'', formerly ''Brachygeophilus sukacevi'', is a species of soil centipede in the family Geophilidae found in the most western part of the Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and ...

'' (Folkmanová, 1956)

References

Geophilomorpha {{Centipede-stub