Himantarium

Himantarium
Himantarium gabrielis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Myriapoda
Class: Chilopoda
Order: Geophilomorpha
Family: Himantariidae
Genus: Himantarium
(C.L. Koch, 1847)

Himantarium is a genus of centipedes in the family Himantariidae. Centipedes in this genus feature a swollen trunk that is posteriorly stout, subcircular sternal pore-fields on almost all trunk segments, much inflated coxapleura completely covered with scattered pores, and a very small metasternite on the ultimate leg-bearing segment; each mandible has a robust dentate lamella and few pectinate lamellae. These centipedes range from 10 cm to 20 cm in length, have from 87 to 179 pairs of legs, and are found in the Mediterranean region.[1] Both the minimum (87 pairs) and the maximum (179 pairs) number of legs in this genus appear in the species Himantarium gabrielis, which exhibits a striking degree of intraspecific variation in leg number.[2]

  1. ^ Bonato, Lucio; Edgecombe, Gregory D.; Zapparoli, Marzio (2011). "Chilopoda – Taxonomic overview". In Minelli, Alessandro (ed.). The Myriapoda. Volume 1. Leiden: Brill. pp. 363–443. ISBN 978-90-04-18826-6. OCLC 812207443.
  2. ^ Simaiakis, Stylianos Michail (2009-12-01). "Relationship between intraspecific variation in segment number and geographic distribution of Himantarium gabrielis (Linné, 1767) (Chilopoda: Geophilomorpha) in Southern Europe" (PDF). Soil Organisms. 81 (3): 359–371 [360]. ISSN 2509-9523.