Scolopendromorpha

Scolopendromorpha [¦skäl·ə‚pen·drə′mȯr·fə]

(invertebrate zoology)

An order of the chilopod subclass Pleurostigmophora containing the dominant tropical forms, and also the largest of the centipedes.

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Scolopendromorpha 

an order of arthropods of the class Chilopoda. The flat body is about 30 cm long and is divided into a head and trunk, consisting of 25 to 29 segments. The first body segment has a pair of powerful maxillipeds, whose distal joints are equipped with claws perforated by the opening of the poison gland, which is placed at the base of the joint. The remaining body segments each have one pair of walking legs. Insemination is by means of spermatophores. The female protects the eggs and hatched young by rolling herself into a ball around them.

The Scolopendromorpha occur mostly in the tropics. In the USSR they are found only in the Crimea, the Caucasus, the southern Ukraine, southern Ciscaucasia, and Middle Asia. Nocturnal animals, the arthropods stay in sheltered places during the day, for example, under rocks or in cracks in the soil. They are active predators that feed on insects, earthworms, and other invertebrates. Large species also attack toads, lizards, and birds. The arthropods are poisonous; the sting of some tropical species is fatal to man. Species of the family Cryptopidae, which occur in the steppe zone, are not dangerous.

M. S. GILIAROV