Aim Scutigeromorpha is a globally distributed, ancient group of centipedes with at least 400 million years of evolutionary history. We assess the biogeographic history of the order, with a particular focus on the Peninsular Indian Plate (PIP), a Gondwanan fragment. We hypothesize that continental vicariance explains the disjunct distribution of extant scutigeromorphs, that PIP scutigeromorphs are of ancient Gondwanan origins,...

Aim To investigate the drivers of intra‐specific genetic diversity in centipedes, a group of ancient predatory soil arthropods. Location Asia, Australasia and Europe. Time Period Present. Major Taxa Studied Centipedes (Class: Chilopoda). Methods We assembled a database of 1245 mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I sequences representing 128 centipede species from all five orders of Chilopoda. This sequence dataset was u...

Scolopendromorpha is unique among Chilopoda in the differentiation of a structurally complex gizzard at the posterior end of the foregut. Classical descriptions indicate major morphological differences between the gizzards of a few documented members of the main groups, Scolopendridae, Cryptopidae and Scolopocryptopidae. A survey of gizzard anatomy for 30 species by light and scanning electron microscopy introduces 13 characte...