Cryptopidae
Guides
Cryptops leucopodus
Cryptops leucopodus is a species of centipede in the family Cryptopidae, first described by Rafinesque in 1820. It belongs to the order Scolopendromorpha, which includes some of the largest and most venomous centipedes. The species is known from North America, particularly the United States. As a member of the genus Cryptops, it shares the characteristic body plan of cryptopid centipedes, which typically possess 21 pairs of legs in adults.
Theatops
Theatops is a genus of centipedes in the family Cryptopidae, order Scolopendromorpha. Species in this genus are found in North America, southern Europe, and Asia. The genus includes Theatops posticus, a common eastern Nearctic species with a disjunct western population, and Theatops chuanensis, the first Asian record of the family. Theatops species possess distinctive morphological features including modified ultimate legs, with some species exhibiting ventral spurs on the prefemora and femora.
Theatops posticus
Big-leg Centipede
Theatops posticus is a common eastern Nearctic centipede in the family Cryptopidae. It exhibits a continental distribution pattern with eastern and western populations segregated by approximately 1,200 km in Texas and New Mexico. The species has been recorded from Santa Cruz Island in the Pacific Ocean off the southern California coast. Southwestern populations show morphological variation intermediate between eastern T. posticus and the congener T. californiensis.