''Geophilus algarum'' is a species of centipede 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 the littoral zone on the French Atlantic and Channel Coasts. It has one subspecies, ''G. algarum var. decipiens'', which can be identified by lack of a dorsal

coxal In vertebrate anatomy, hip (or "coxa"Latin ''coxa'' was used by Celsus in the sense "hip", but by Pliny the Elder in the sense "hip bone" (Diab, p 77) in medical terminology) refers to either an anatomical region or a joint. The hip region is ...

pore. The male of this species has 53 pairs of legs; females have 53 to 59.

Taxonomy

''G. algarum'' shares several characteristics with both '' G. fucorum'' and '' G. gracilis'', leading some to believe that the three are a single polytypic species consisting of highly individual subspecies. It's differentiated from the two by having two labral teeth, a clear clypeal area, 8-12 prehensorial teeth, three ventral (posterior) and one dorsal coxal pore, and a well-developed claw of the anal leg.

References

algarum Animals described in 1909 {{Myriapoda-stub