Taxonomic Study On Chinese Centipedes Of The Order Scolopendromorpha (Myriapoda: Chilopoda)

The centipedes of the order Scolopendromorpha under the class Chilopoda are a major group of myriapods, comprising approximately 620 species belonging to 32 genera of 3 families all over the world.In the general account a brief review of the biogeography of the genus Scolopocryptops is made and the morphological characteristics and natural history of the order are offered as well. Besides, the phylogeny of the Myriapoda and Chilopoda is also discussed.In the systematic account thirty species known to China belonging to 5 genera of 3 families are described in detail and figured. Of them, 5 species are new to science: Scolopendra diaoluoensis sp. nov., Otostigmus (O.) lewisi sp. nov., Cryptops hebeiensis sp. nov., Scolopocryptops nigrimaculatus sp. nov. and Scolopocryptops glabratus sp. nov.; 6 species are newly recorded from China: Otostigmus (O.) martensi Lewis, Otostigmus (O.) beroni Lewis, Rhysida afra (Peters), Cryptops doriae Pocock, Scolopocryptops spinicaudus Wood and S. nigridius McNeill. In addition, Scolopocryptops capillipedatus (Takakuwa) is newly synonymized with S. nigridius McNeill. Otostigmus (O.) insulari (Hasse), Rhysida yanagiharai Takakuwa and Dinocryptops broelemanni (Kraepelin) are regarded as nomen dubium.