# Schendylidae

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**Schendylidae** is a family of [soil centipedes](/source/Geophilomorpha) in the superfamily [Himantarioidea](/source/Himantarioidea) and the order [Geophilomorpha](/source/Geophilomorpha).[1][2] These [centipedes](/source/Centipede) are found in the [Americas](/source/Americas), the [Palearctic](/source/Palearctic_realm) region, [Africa](/source/Africa), [Madagascar](/source/Madagascar), [Australia](/source/Australia), and [southeast Asia](/source/Southeast_Asia), and also on some [Pacific islands](/source/List_of_islands_in_the_Pacific_Ocean).[3] This family was first proposed by the American [biologist](/source/Biologist) [Orator F. Cook](/source/Orator_F._Cook) in 1896.[4]

## Taxonomy

In 2014, a [phylogenetic analysis](/source/Phylogenetics) based on [morphological](/source/Morphology_(biology)) and molecular data found this family to be [paraphyletic](/source/Paraphyly) with respect to the family [Ballophilidae](/source/Ballophilidae).[2] Authorities now deem Ballophilidae to be a [synonym](/source/Synonym_(taxonomy)) of Schendylidae.[5] The family Schendylidae now includes at least 47 genera and 310 described species.[5][6]

## Description

Centipedes in this family feature second [maxillae](/source/Maxilla_(arthropod_mouthpart)) with claws that are often fringed by small spines or rows of filaments. Sternal pores are usually present, most often in a single field. Each coxopleuron most often has only one or two pores.[3]

Compared to most other families in the suborder [Adesmata](/source/Adesmata), this family features a modest number of leg-bearing segments and limited variation in this number within each species (usually no more than three or four contiguous odd numbers).[7] This family includes the two species that feature the fewest legs (27 pairs) in the order Geophilomorpha: males in the species *[Schendylops ramirezi](/source/Schendylops_ramirezi)* have only 27 pairs of legs, while females have 29, and males in the species *[S. oligopus](/source/Schendylops_oligopus)* have 27 or 29 (usually 29), while females have 31.[8] Furthermore, *S. ramirezi* is one of only two species in this order in which females have only 29 leg pairs (the other species, *[Dinogeophilus oligopodus](/source/Dinogeophilus_oligopodus)*, is also in this family,[9][10] with 29 in each sex).[8] Several other species in this family are known from specimens with notably few leg pairs in each sex, including *[Schendlya antici](/source/Schendyla_antici)* (29 in males and 31 in females),[11] *[Mesoschendyla javanica](/source/Mesoschendyla_javanica)* (31 in males and 31 or 33 in females),[12] and *[Escaryus cryptorobius](/source/Escaryus)* (as few as 31 in males and 33 in females).[13] Among all the other families in the order Geophilomorpha, only the family [Geophilidae](/source/Geophilidae) (including [Aphilodontidae](/source/Aphilodontidae), [Dignathodontidae](/source/Dignathodontidae), [Linotaeniidae](/source/Linotaeniidae), and [Macronicophilidae](/source/Macronicophilus)) includes centipedes with so few legs.[14][3]

Many species in the family Schendylidae are notable for their small sizes. The most extreme examples are the two species in the South American genus *[Dinogeophilus](/source/Dinogeophilus)*, which range from 4.5 to 5.5 mm in length. These species are the smallest not only in the order Geophilomorpha but also among all epimorphic centipedes.[9]

## Genera

- *[Algunguis](/source/Algunguis)*
- *[Apunguis](/source/Apunguis)*
- *[Australoschendyla](/source/Australoschendyla)* Jones, 1896
- *[Bimindyla](/source/Bimindyla)*
- *[Ctenophilus](/source/Ctenophilus)*
- *[Cymochilus](/source/Cymochilus)*
- *[Dinogeophilus](/source/Dinogeophilus)* Silvestri, 1909
- *[Escaryus](/source/Escaryus)* Cook & Collins, 1891
- *[Espagnella](/source/Espagnella)*
- *[Falcaryus](/source/Falcaryus)*
- *[Gosendyla](/source/Gosendyla)*
- *[Haploschendyla](/source/Haploschendyla)*
- *[Holitys](/source/Holitys)*
- *[Hydroschendyla](/source/Hydroschendyla)*
- *[Leptoschendyla](/source/Leptoschendyla)* Attems, 1953
- *[Marsikomerus](/source/Marsikomerus)* Attems, 1938
- *[Mesoschendyla](/source/Mesoschendyla)* Attems, 1909
- *[Mexiconyx](/source/Mexiconyx)*
- *[Momophilus](/source/Momophilus)*
- *[Morunguis](/source/Morunguis)*
- *[Nannophilus](/source/Nannophilus)*
- *[Nannopodellus](/source/Nannopodellus)*
- *[Nesonyx](/source/Nesonyx)* Chamberlin, 1923
- *[Nyctunguis](/source/Nyctunguis)* Chamberlin, 1914
- *[Orygmadyla](/source/Orygmadyla)*
- *[Parunguis](/source/Parunguis)*
- *[Pectiniunguis](/source/Pectiniunguis)* Bollman, 1889
- *[Plesioschendyla](/source/Plesioschendyla)* Ribaut, 1923
- *[Schendyla](/source/Schendyla)* Bergsøe & Meinert, 1866
- *[Schendylellus](/source/Schendylellus)*
- *[Schendylops](/source/Schendylops)* Cook, 1899
- *[Serrunguis](/source/Serrunguis)*
- *[Sogodes](/source/Sogodes)*
- *[Sogolabis](/source/Sogolabis)*
- *[Thindyla](/source/Thindyla)*

## References

1. ["Schendylidae Family Information"](https://bugguide.net/node/view/905724). *BugGuide.net*. Retrieved 2018-02-23.

1. Bonato, Lucio (2014). "Phylogeny of Geophilomorpha (Chilopoda) inferred from new morphological and molecular evidence". *Cladistics. The International Journal of the Willi Hennig Society*. **30** (5): 485–507. [doi:10.1111/cla.12060](https://doi.org/10.1111/cla.12060). [PMID 34794246](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34794246). [S2CID 86204188](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:86204188)

1. Bonato, Lucio; Edgecombe, Gregory D.; Zapparoli, Marzio (2011). "Chilopoda – Taxonomic overview". *The Myriapoda. Volume 1*. Minelli, Alessandro (ed.). Leiden: Brill. pp. 363–443. ISBN 978-90-04-18826-6. [OCLC 812207443](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/812207443)

1. Cook, O. F. (1896). ["An arrangement of the Geophilidæ, a family of Chilopoda"](https://biostor.org/reference/3994). *Proceedings of the United States National Museum*. **18** (1039): 63–75 [70]. [doi:10.5479/si.00963801.18-1039.63](https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00963801.18-1039.63)

1. ["Schendylidae Report"](https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=154405). *Integrated Taxonomic Information System*. Retrieved 2018-02-23.

1. ["Schendylidae Overview"](http://eol.org/pages/6385/overview). *Encyclopedia of Life*. Retrieved 2018-02-23.

1. Minelli, Alessandro & Bortoletto, Stefano (1988-04-01). "Myriapod metamerism and arthropod segmentation". *Biological Journal of the Linnean Society*. **33** (4): 323–343. [doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.1988.tb00448.x](https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8312.1988.tb00448.x). [ISSN 0024-4066](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0024-4066)

1. Pereira, Luis Alberto (2013-01-01). "Discovery of a second geophilomorph species (Myriapoda: Chilopoda) having twenty-seven leg-bearing segments, the lowest number recorded up to the present in the centipede order Geophilomorpha". *Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia*. **53** (13): 163–185. [doi:10.1590/S0031-10492013001300001](https://doi.org/10.1590/S0031-10492013001300001). [hdl:11336/3449](https://hdl.handle.net/11336/3449). [ISSN 1807-0205](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1807-0205)

1. Bonato, Lucio; Minelli, Alessandro; Drago, Leandro; Pereira, Luis Alberto (2015-09-25). ["The phylogenetic position of Dinogeophilus and a new evolutionary framework for the smallest epimorphic centipedes (Chilopoda: Epimorpha)"](https://brill.com/view/journals/ctoz/84/3/article-p237_4.xml). *Contributions to Zoology*. **84** (3): 237–253. [doi:10.1163/18759866-08403004](https://doi.org/10.1163/18759866-08403004). [hdl:11577/3146565](https://hdl.handle.net/11577/3146565). [ISSN 1875-9866](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1875-9866)

1. 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). ["Dinogeophilus oligopodus Pereira, 1984"](https://chilobase.biologia.unipd.it/searches/result_species/3809). *ChiloBase 2.0 - A World Catalogue of Centipedes (Chilopoda)*. Retrieved 2024-01-20.

1. Stojanović, Dalibor Z.; šEvić, Mirko; Makarov, Slobodan E. (2024-03-07). ["A new dwarf schendylid centipede (Chilopoda: Geophilomorpha: Schendylidae) with a low number of legs from Serbia, Balkan Peninsula"](https://mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5419.3.5). *Zootaxa*. **5419** (3): 401–418. [doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5419.3.5](https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5419.3.5). [ISSN 1175-5334](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1175-5334)

1. Popovici, George; Akkari, Nesrine; Edgecombe, Gregory D. (2025-05-23). "Redescription of Mesoschendyla javanica (Attems, 1907) and its first records from Borneo (Chilopoda, Geophilomorpha, Schendylidae)". *Biodiversity Data Journal*. **13**. [doi:10.3897/BDJ.13.e156917](https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.13.e156917). [ISSN 1314-2828](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1314-2828). [PMC 12125604](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12125604). [PMID 40453373](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40453373)

1. Pereira, Luis A. & Hoffman, Richard L. (1993). ["The American species of Escaryus, a genus of holoarctic centipeds (Geophilomorpha: Schendylidae)"](https://www.vmnh.net/content/vmnh/uploads/PDFs/research_and_collections/jeffersoniana/jeffersoniana_number_3.pdf). *Jeffersoniana*. **3**: 1–72.

1. Bonato, Lucio (2014). "Phylogeny of Geophilomorpha (Chilopoda) inferred from new morphological and molecular evidence". *Cladistics*. **30** (5): 485–507. [doi:10.1111/cla.12060](https://doi.org/10.1111/cla.12060). [PMID 34794246](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34794246). [S2CID 86204188](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:86204188)

## Further reading

- Foddai, Donatella & Dallai, Romano (1995). *Chilopoda, Diplopoda, Pauropoda, Symphyla*. Calderini.
- Capinera, John L. (ed.) (2008). *Encyclopedia of Entomology*. Springer. ISBN 978-1-4020-6242-1.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Schendylidae](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schendylidae) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schendylidae?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.