Lithobius borealis Meinert, 1868
Synonyms
Lithobius lapidicola Latzel, 1880 (NOT L. lapidicola of Meinert, 1872)
Status:
GB IUCN status: Least Concern
ID Difficulty
Identification
Lithobius is a difficult genus and at least 17 species are known from Britain and Ireland.
Lithobius borealis is one of five 'smaller species' with 2 + 2 forcipular teeth and with backward projections on tergites 9, 11 and 13 that can be confused with the common L. melanops. The presence of an ‘accessory’ spine on the prefemur of the last legs is one distinction from L. melanops.
More information to allow accurate identification is given in the published identification keys by Tony Barber (2008 & 2009).
Distribution
Lithobius borealis is a very widely recorded centipede throughout Ireland and Britain, including Orkney and Shetland, but seems more frequent in western areas.
Habitat
It is typically occurs in moorland, heath or woodland where it can be found under stones and dead wood, under loose bark or among leaf-litter and mosses.
This account is based on the 'Centipede Atlas' (Barber, 2022).
Links
ChiloBase 2.0 - World Catalogue of Centipedes: https://chilobase.biologia.unipd.it/searches/result_species/1572
BRC code
19
idBmigTaxa
Cen_161