Orphnaeus brevilabiatus

Orphnaeus brevilabiatus is a species of centipedes in the family Oryidae.[1][2]

Orphnaeus brevilabiatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Chilopoda
Order:
Geophilomorpha
Family:
Oryidae
Genus:
Orphnaeus
Species:
O. brevilabiatus
Binomial name
Orphnaeus brevilabiatus
(Newport, 1845)
Synonyms
  • Geophilus bilineatus Peters, 1855
  • Orphnaeus lividus Meinert, 1870
  • Scolopendra phosphoreus Linnaeus, 1758
  • Orya xanti Tömösváry, 1885
  • Orphaneous brevilabiatus Anderson, 1980
  • Orphaneus brevilabiatus Haneda,1939
  • Orphanaeus brevilabiatus Yatsu, 1912
  • Orphaneous brevilabiatus Anderson, 1980

Description

Adult specimens are typically 60-65 mm long, yellowish-orange in colour and ca. 1 mm wide at the head.[3] Males of this species can have as few as 67 pairs of legs, whereas females can have as many as 81 leg pairs.[4]

Distribution

It is a littoral myriapod that can be found throughout sublittoral zones of Indian and East Pacific countries,[5] including Taiwan and Japan, in particular the Okinawan, Yaeyama and Miyama islands, where it is listed as a threatened local population.[3] It has been introduced to south-west Western Australia.[6]

Biology

The species is one of several bioluminescent centipede genera currently known.[3] Upon direct chemical, thermal and physical stimulation, the centipede secretes a clear, but bioluminescent slime from pores in its sternal defense glands, supposedly a form of aposematism.[7] While several genera display this form of bioluminescence, utilising the typical oxygen-dependent luciferin-luciferase reaction, this example is noteworthy due to the low, narrow pH range of the reaction, and the relatively long period of emission.[8]

References
  1. "Orphnaeus brevilabiatus (Newport,1845)". chilobase - a web resource for Chilopoda taxonomy. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  2. "An annotated checklist of centipedes (Myriapoda: Chilopoda) of Sri Lanka". Research Gate. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  3. Oba, Yuichi; Branham, Marc A.; Fukatsu, Takema (November 2011). "The Terrestrial Bioluminescent Animals of Japan". Zoological Science. 28 (11): 771–789. doi:10.2108/zsj.28.771. ISSN 0289-0003. PMID 22035300. S2CID 27853202.
  4. Attems, Carl (1929). Attems, Karl (ed.). Lfg. 52 Myriapoda, 1: Geophilomorpha (in German). De Gruyter. p. 113. doi:10.1515/9783111430638. ISBN 978-3-11-143063-8.
  5. "Orphnaeus brevilabiatus (Newport, 1845)". marine species. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  6. "Species Orphnaeus brevilabiatus (Newport, 1845)". Australian Faunal Directory. Dept of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Australia. 2010. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  7. "Luminescent myriapoda: a brief review".
  8. Anderson, James Michael (1980). "Biochemistry of Centipede Bioluminescence*". Photochemistry and Photobiology. 31 (2): 179–181. doi:10.1111/j.1751-1097.1980.tb03701.x. ISSN 1751-1097. S2CID 86029659.


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