''Geophilus aztecus'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

soil centipede Centipedes (from New Latin , "hundred", and Latin , "foot") are predatory arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda (Ancient Greek , ''kheilos'', lip, and New Latin suffix , "foot", describing the forcipules) of the subphylum Myriapoda, an a ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

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

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

. The original description of this species is based on a dark red specimen measuring 44 mm in length with antennae moniliform at the apex. This species can reach 52 mm in length and has 57 or 59 pairs of legs.

Taxonomy

As ''

Geophilus ''Geophilus '' is a large, heterogeneous genus of soil centipedes in the family Geophilidae largely considered to be synonymous with '' Brachygeophilus''. It is a mostly holarctic genus characterized by a claw-shaped ultimate pretarsus, anteri ...

'' is a

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 region ...

genus, ''G. aztecus'' has almost certainly been misidentified, but as of now has not been correctly reassigned.

References

aztecus Animals described in 1896 Arthropods of Central America {{Myriapoda-stub