Mecophilus

Mecophilus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Myriapoda
Class:	Chilopoda
Order:	Geophilomorpha
Family:	Geophilidae
Subfamily:	Aphilodontinae
Genus:	Mecophilus; Silvestri, 1909
Type species
	Mecophilus neotropicus; Silvestri, 1909
Species
	Mecophilus carioca; Mecophilus neotropicus; Mecophilus tupiniquim;

Mecophilus is a genus of soil centipedes in the subfamily Aphilodontinae, a clade formerly known as the family Aphilodontidae^[1] but now deemed a subfamily within the family Geophilidae.^[2]^[3] The species in this genus are among the smallest centipedes in the order Geophilomorpha, reaching only 8 mm in length.^[4] This genus is also notable for featuring the fewest legs (only 33 or 35 pairs) in the subfamily Aphilodontinae.^[4] The species in this genus are found in the Atlantic Forest in south and southeastern Brazil.^[2]^[4]

^ Bonato, Lucio; Edgecombe, Gregory D.; Zapparoli, Marzio (2011). "Chilopoda – Taxonomic overview". In Minelli, Alessandro (ed.). The Myriapoda. Volume 1. Leiden: Brill. pp. 363–443 [407-408]. ISBN 978-90-04-18826-6. OCLC 812207443.
^ ^a ^b Calvanese, Victor C.; Brescovit, Antonio D.; Bonato, Lucio (2019-11-15). "Revision of the Neotropical species of Aphilodontinae (Geophilomorpha, Geophilidae), with eight new species and a first phylogenetic analysis of the subfamily". Zootaxa. 4698 (1): 1–72. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4698.1.1. ISSN 1175-5334.
^ Bonato, L.; Chagas Junior, A.; Edgecombe, G.D.; Lewis, J.G.E.; Minelli, A.; Pereira, L.A.; Shelley, R.M.; Stoev, P.; Zapparoli, M. (2016). "Mecophilus tupiniquim Calvanese, Brescovit, Bonato, 2019". ChiloBase 2.0 - A World Catalogue of Centipedes (Chilopoda). Retrieved 2024-06-08.
^ ^a ^b ^c Calvanese, Victor C.; Brescovit, Antonio D. (2022-01-18). "A new species of Mecophilus (Geophilidae: Aphilodontinae), with the first report of the genus from the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil". Zootaxa. 5092 (1): 134–142. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5092.1.8. ISSN 1175-5334.