Geophilus hadesi,New Species of Cave-Dwelling Centipede Discovered

Centipedes are carnivores that feed on other invertebrates. They are common cave inhabitants but members of this particular order usually find shelter there only occasionally. Species with an entire life cycle confined to cave environments are exceptionally rare in the group. Recorded as deep as -3,600 feet (-1,100 meters), the newly-discovered geophilomorph centipede was named Geophilus hadesi, after Hades – the god of the underworld in the Greek mythology. The species has also had its name picked to pair another cave-dwelling species, Geophilus persephones, discovered in 1999 and named after Persephone, the queen of the underworld. “The species is described upon specimens found in two caves at a depth below -820 feet (-250 meters),” Prof Stoev and colleagues wrote in a paper in the journal ZooKeys. “Another two specimens apparently belonging to the same species have been -READ MORE-http://www.sci-news.com/biology/science-geophilus-hadesi-centipede-02971.html