Linotaeniidae are a

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

clade 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 mostly in the temperate regions of the

Holarctic The Holarctic realm is a biogeographic realm that comprises the majority of habitats found throughout the continents in the Northern Hemisphere. It corresponds to the floristic Boreal Kingdom. It includes both the Nearctic zoogeographical reg ...

as well as the south

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

. Species in the clade Linotaeniidae are characterized by a body that usually tapers toward the anterior tip; mandibles with a single pectinate lamella; second maxillae with coxo-

sternite The sternum (: sterna) is the ventral portion of a segment of an arthropod thorax or abdomen. In insects, the sterna are usually single, large sclerites, and external. However, they can sometimes be divided in two or more, in which case the su ...

usually undivided and claws without projections; forcipular segment short, with

tergite A ''tergum'' (Latin for "the back"; : ''terga'', associated adjective tergal) is the Anatomical terms of location#Dorsal and ventral, dorsal ('upper') portion of an arthropod segment other than the head. The Anatomical terms of location#Anterior ...

remarkably wide, forcipules evidently tapering; coxal organs opening through distinct pores on the ventral surface of the coxo-

pleura The pleurae (: pleura) are the two flattened closed sacs filled with pleural fluid, each ensheathing each lung and lining their surrounding tissues, locally appearing as two opposing layers of serous membrane separating the lungs from the med ...

. The number of legs in this clade varies within as well as among species and ranges from as few as 31 pairs of legs (in '' Strigamia hoffmani'') to as many as 83 leg pairs (in '' S. epileptica'', ''Agathothus gracilis'', and ''Diplochora imperialis''). Compared to most families in the suborder

Adesmata Adesmata is a suborder of centipedes within the order Geophilomorpha containing the superfamilies Geophiloidea and Himantarioidea. This suborder contains 13 families. All members of this suborder have ventral defensive glands. Description Speci ...

, this clade features a modest number of leg-bearing segments and limited variation in this number within each species.

Genera

* '' Agathothus'' * '' Chileana'' * '' Diplochora'' * '' Strigamia''

Genera

References

Further reading