# Scolopendromorpha

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Order of centipedes

Scolopendromorpha Scolopendra ovitora guarding her eggs Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Subphylum: Myriapoda Class: Chilopoda Subclass: Pleurostigmomorpha Order: Scolopendromorpha Type species Scolopendra morsitans [1][2] Linnaeus, 1758 Families Cryptopidae Mimopidae Plutoniumidae Scolopendridae Scolopocryptopidae

**Scolopendromorpha** (from [Ancient Greek](/source/Ancient_Greek) [σκόλοψ](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%CF%83%CE%BA%CF%8C%CE%BB%CE%BF%CF%88) (*skólops*), meaning "thorn", [ἔντερον](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E1%BC%94%CE%BD%CF%84%CE%B5%CF%81%CE%BF%CE%BD) (*énteron*), meaning "earthworm", and [μορφή](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%CE%BC%CE%BF%CF%81%CF%86%CE%AE) (*morphḗ*), meaning "form") is an order of [centipedes](/source/Centipede) also known as **tropical centipedes**[3] or **bark centipedes.**[4][5] This order includes about 700 species in five families. These centipedes are found nearly worldwide, with tropical and subtropical regions providing the richest diversity in species.[6] This order includes the only known amphibious centipedes, *[Scolopendra cataracta](/source/Scolopendra_cataracta)*, *[Scolopendra paradoxa](/source/Scolopendra_paradoxa)*, and *[Scolopendra alcyona](/source/Scolopendra_alcyona)*.[7][8][9][10]

## Description

The centipedes in this order are [epimorphic](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/epimorphic), hatching with a full complement of segments.[11] They usually possess 21 or 23 trunk segments with the same number of paired legs. The number of leg pairs is fixed at 21 for most species in this order and fixed at 23 for the remaining species, except for two species with intraspecific variation: *[Scolopendropsis bahiensis](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scolopendropsis_bahiensis&action=edit&redlink=1)*, which has 21 or 23 leg pairs, and *[S. duplicata](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scolopendropsis_duplicata&action=edit&redlink=1)*, which has 39 or 43 leg pairs.[12] Species in this order have flattened bodies ranging from 9 mm to 30 cm in length. Colors vary but can be vivid sometimes. Antennae are usually gradually attenuated[*[jargon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style#Technical_language)*] and have from 14 to 34 segments (but usually have 17 to 21 segments).[6]

## Families

The order comprises the five families [Cryptopidae](/source/Cryptopidae), [Scolopendridae](/source/Scolopendridae), [Mimopidae](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mimopidae&action=edit&redlink=1), [Scolopocryptopidae](/source/Scolopocryptopidae), and [Plutoniumidae](/source/Plutoniumidae). Nearly all species in the family Scolopendridae have four ocelli ([simple eyes](/source/Simple_eye_in_invertebrates)) on each side of the head, and the genus *[Mimops](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mimops&action=edit&redlink=1)* (family Mimopidae) features a pale area often considered an ocellus on each side of the head, whereas the other three families are blind.[13][14] Species in the family Scolopocryptopidae have 23 leg-bearing segments, whereas species in all other families in this order have only 21 leg-bearing segments (with the exception of the genus *[Scolopendropsis](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scolopendropsis&action=edit&redlink=1)* in Scolopendridae).[15][14][13][16]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Chilobase"](https://chilobase.biologia.unipd.it/). *University of Padua*. Retrieved 2022-05-05.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Shelley, R; Edwards, G; Chagas Jr, Amazonas (2005). "Introduction of the Centipede *Scolopendra morsitans* L., 1758, into Northeastern Florida, the First Authentic North American Record, and a Review of Its Global Occurrences (Scolopendromorpha: Scolopendridae: Scolopendrinae)". *Entomological News*. Vol. 116. pp. 39–58.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Proute, Jenelle (2017). ["Scolopendra gigantea (Giant Centipede)"](https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/documents/ogatt/Scolopendra_gigantea%20-%20Giant%20Centipede.pdf) (PDF). *The Online Guide to the Animals of Trinidad and Tobago*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Bark Centipedes - Encyclopedia of Life"](https://eol.org/pages/6370). *eol.org*. Retrieved 2022-12-30.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Order Scolopendromorpha - Bark Centipedes"](https://bugguide.net/node/view/23/bgpage). *bugguide.net*. Retrieved 2024-07-23.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:12_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:12_6-1) Bonato, Lucio; Edgecombe, Gregory D.; Zapparoli, Marzio (2011). "Chilopoda – Taxonomic overview". In Minelli, Alessandro (ed.). *The Myriapoda. Volume 1*. Leiden: Brill. pp. 363–443 [392–393]. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-90-04-18826-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-90-04-18826-6). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [812207443](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/812207443).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Bates, M. (26 June 2016). ["'Horrific' First Amphibious Centipede Discovered"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160626122234/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/06/amphibious-centipede-discovered-laos-scolopendra-cataracta-new-species/). [National Geographic](/source/National_Geographic_Society). Archived from [the original](http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/06/amphibious-centipede-discovered-laos-scolopendra-cataracta-new-species/) on June 26, 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Siriwut, W.; Edgecombe, G. D.; Sutcharit, C.; Tongkerd, P.; Panha, S. (2016). ["A taxonomic review of the centipede genus Scolopendra Linnaeus, 1758 (Scolopendromorpha, Scolopendridae) in mainland Southeast Asia, with description of a new species from Laos"](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4926625). *[ZooKeys](/source/ZooKeys)* (590): 1–124. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.3897/zookeys.590.7950](https://doi.org/10.3897%2Fzookeys.590.7950). [PMC](/source/PMC_(identifier)) [4926625](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4926625). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [27408540](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27408540).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Guardian_9-0)** Holmes, O. (1 July 2016). ["Giant swimming, venomous centipede discovered by accident in world-first"](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jul/01/giant-swimming-venomous-centipede-found-south-east-asia). *[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)*. Retrieved 1 July 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Zootaxa_10-0)** Sho, T. (12 April 2021). ["A new amphibious species of the genus Scolopendra Linnaeus, 1758 (Scolopendromorpha, Scolopendridae) from the Ryukyu Archipelago and Taiwan"](https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.4952.3.3). *Biotaxa*. Retrieved 2022-01-10.>

1. **[^](#cite_ref-:4_11-0)** Fusco, Giuseppe (2005). ["Trunk segment numbers and sequential segmentation in myriapods"](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1525-142X.2005.05064.x). *Evolution & Development*. **7** (6): 608–617. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1111/j.1525-142X.2005.05064.x](https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1525-142X.2005.05064.x). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1525-142X](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1525-142X). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [16336414](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16336414). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [21401688](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:21401688).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-:1_12-0)** Minelli, Alessandro (2020). ["Arthropod segments and segmentation – lessons from myriapods, and open questions"](http://opuscula.elte.hu/PDF/Tomus51_S2/Op_%20Minelli_Arthropod_segmentation.pdf) (PDF). *Opuscula Zoologica*. **51** (S2): 7–21. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.18348/opzool.2020.S2.7](https://doi.org/10.18348%2Fopzool.2020.S2.7). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [226561862](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:226561862).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:2_13-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:2_13-1) Jiang, Chao; Bai, Yunjun; Shi, Mengxuan; Liu, Juan (2020-12-05). ["Rediscovery and phylogenetic relationships of the scolopendromorph centipede Mimops orientalis Kraepelin, 1903 (Chilopoda): a monotypic species of Mimopidae endemic to China, for more than one century"](https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/51461/). *ZooKeys* (932): 75–91. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.3897/zookeys.932.51461](https://doi.org/10.3897%2Fzookeys.932.51461). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1313-2970](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1313-2970). [PMC](/source/PMC_(identifier)) [7239954](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7239954). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [32476974](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32476974).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:3_14-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:3_14-1) Vahtera, Varpu; Edgecombe, Gregory D.; Giribet, Gonzalo (2012). ["Evolution of blindness in scolopendromorph centipedes (Chilopoda: Scolopendromorpha): insight from an expanded sampling of molecular data"](https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1096-0031.2011.00361.x). *Cladistics*. **28** (1): 4–20. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1111/j.1096-0031.2011.00361.x](https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1096-0031.2011.00361.x). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1096-0031](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1096-0031). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [34856735](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34856735). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [84329980](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:84329980).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-:0_15-0)** Edgecombe, Gregory D.; Giribet, Gonzalo (2007). ["Evolutionary Biology of Centipedes (Myriapoda: Chilopoda)"](https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev.ento.52.110405.091326). *Annual Review of Entomology*. **52**: 151–170. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1146/annurev.ento.52.110405.091326](https://doi.org/10.1146%2Fannurev.ento.52.110405.091326). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [16872257](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16872257).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** Benavides, Ligia R.; Jiang, Chao; Giribet, Gonzalo (2021-09-01). ["Mimopidae is the sister group to all other scolopendromorph centipedes (Chilopoda, Scolopendromorpha): a phylotranscriptomic approach"](https://doi.org/10.1007/s13127-021-00502-2). *Organisms Diversity & Evolution*. **21** (3): 591–598. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1007/s13127-021-00502-2](https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs13127-021-00502-2). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1618-1077](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1618-1077). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [239688370](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:239688370).

- [Arthropods portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Arthropods)

Taxon identifiers Scolopendromorpha Wikidata: Q1201093 Wikispecies: Scolopendromorpha ADW: Scolopendromorpha AFD: Scolopendromorpha BOLD: 169145 BugGuide: 23 CoL: 42K EoL: 6370 Fauna Europaea: 11606 Fauna Europaea (new): de99f5f4-3843-448c-804b-b30b8b7307c5 GBIF: 1252 iNaturalist: 53763 IRMNG: 11858 ITIS: 913857 NBN: NBNSYS0100005465 NCBI: 41361 Open Tree of Life: 61464 Paleobiology Database: 290420 Plazi: E7175D5D-FFF8-FFE9-44AB-F8AD391A90AF WoRMS: 394581

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