Common centipede
Lithobius forficatus Linnaeus (1758)
Status not recordedother invertebrates
The common centipede (Lithobius forficatus) is an invertebrate in the family Lithobiidae, order Lithobiomorpha and class Chilopoda. Named by Linnaeus (1758), it belongs to the genus Lithobius within the phylum Arthropoda.
Quick facts about the common centipede
Checklists record it as native in Brazil, Greenland, Ireland and Iceland. It is a living species, not extinct, and is also called brown centipede, stone centipede and common garden centipede.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- 1.8 cm – 3 cmsrc for Length
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- arthropodssrc for Main food
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Conservation status
- Not recorded
- Countries on record
- 4 countriessrc for Countries on record
How big is the common centipede?
Photos of the common centipede
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the common centipede live?
Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.
The common centipede is listed for 4 countries.
- Listed
- Not listed
The same countries as a list
Why a country list is not a range map
Listed by: ChiloBase (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.
Where has it been introduced?
Also listed for parts of: United States (Hawaii).
Introduced means brought by people and now present; invasive means the country's checklist records an impact. A species can be native to one part of a country and introduced in another. Source: Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (CC BY 4.0).
What is the common centipede?
Lithobius forficatus, most commonly known as the garden centipede, brown centipede or stone centipede, is a common centipede of the family Lithobiidae. It is found in Europe and North America.
From the Wikipedia article “Lithobius forficatus” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lithobius_forficatus&oldid=1380924346), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the common centipede endangered?
No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.
How is the common centipede classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumArthropoda
- classChilopoda
- orderLithobiomorpha
- familyLithobiidae
- genusLithobius
- SpeciesLithobius forficatus Linnaeus (1758)
Synonyms Lithobius ameles, Lithobius americanus, Lithobius argus, Lithobius biunguiculatus, Lithobius biunguis, Lithobius biungulatus, Lithobius bonensis, Lithobius brevicalcaratus, Lithobius brevicornis, Lithobius britannicorum, Lithobius cheruscus, Lithobius convenicus, Lithobius coriaceus, Lithobius curtirostris, Lithobius degener, Lithobius diampolisi, Lithobius forcipata, Lithobius forcipatus, Lithobius forficatus biunguis, Lithobius forficatus biungulatus, Lithobius forficatus brevicalcaratus, Lithobius forficatus britannicorum, Lithobius forficatus cheruscus, Lithobius forficatus convenicus, Lithobius forficatus degener, Lithobius forficatus sorrentinus, Lithobius forficatus villosus, Lithobius golemanskyi, Lithobius hardwickei, Lithobius hortensis, Lithobius interrupta, Lithobius laevilabrum, Lithobius leachii, Lithobius muscorum, Lithobius parisiensis, Lithobius parvolus, Lithobius quadridentatus, Lithobius rapitus, Lithobius sorrentinus, Lithobius trilineatus, Lithobius vesuvianus, Lithobius villosus, Lithobius vulgaris, Scolopendra forcipata, Scolopendra forficata, Stenomera interrupta
Other names and names in other languages (26)
- Brown centipedeEnglish
- Common garden centipedeEnglish
- Stone centipedeEnglish
- stonožka škvorováCzech
- StenskolopenderDanish
- Brauner SteinläuferGerman
- Gemeiner SteinläuferGerman
- Ciempiés CobrizoSpanish
- Harilik kiviharkEstonian
- ruskojuoksiainenFinnish
- Lithobie à pincesFrench
- barna százlábúHungarian
- Centopiedi marroneItalian
- AkmenlindėLithuanian
- storsteinkryperNorwegian Bokmål
- gewone steenloperDutch
- Gewone duizendpootDutch
- NijperduizendpootDutch
- storsteinkryparNorwegian Nynorsk
- Drewniak widełkowiecPolish
- Обыкновенная костянкаRussian
- stonôžka ucholakováSlovak
- moknorjaAlbanian
- brun stenkrypareSwedish
- Taş ÇıyanıTurkish
- Кістянка звичайнаUkrainian
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMS
Relatives of the common centipede
Other species in the same genus Lithobius.
Banded centipede
Lithobius variegatus
Garden Lithobius
Lithobius melanops
Peregrine stone centipede
Lithobius peregrinus
Montane Lithobius
Lithobius lucifugus
Purple stone centipede
Lithobius obscurus
Least Lithobius
Lithobius microps
CompareCommon centipede vs Banded centipedeCommon centipede vs Garden LithobiusCommon centipede vs Peregrine stone centipedeCommon centipede vs Montane Lithobius
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What is the scientific name of the common centipede?
The scientific name of the common centipede is Lithobius forficatus.
What kind of animal is the common centipede?
The common centipede is an invertebrate in the class Chilopoda, order Lithobiomorpha and family Lithobiidae, within the phylum Arthropoda.
Who named Lithobius forficatus?
Lithobius forficatus was named by Linnaeus (1758).
Which countries is the common centipede recorded in?
Checklists record the common centipede as native in Brazil, Greenland, Ireland and Iceland.
Is the common centipede extinct?
No, the common centipede is a living species, not extinct, according to the Catalogue of Life.
What other names does the common centipede have?
The common centipede is also called the brown centipede, stone centipede and common garden centipede.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (GRIIS) · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-11-13
Pagad, S., Genovesi, P., Carnevali, L., Schigel, D. & McGeoch, M.A. (2018) Introducing the Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species. Scientific Data 5: 170202. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2017.202. Country checklists published through GBIF by the IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group. - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Common centipede (Lithobius forficatus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-centipede
“Common centipede (Lithobius forficatus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-centipede.
@misc{common_centipede_2026,
title = {Common centipede (Lithobius forficatus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-centipede},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}