Scolopendridae (or, in older documents, Scolopendridæ)[1] is a family of large centipedes (class Chilopoda).
Nearly all species in this family have four ocelli (simple eyes) on each side of the head and only 21 pairs of legs, but there are exceptions: two scolopendrid species feature more legs (Scolopendropsis bahiensis, with 21 or 23 leg pairs,[2] and S. duplicata, with 39 or 43 leg pairs),[3] and some scolopendrid species are eyeless and blind (e.g., Cormocephalus sagmus, C. pyropygus, and C. delta).[4][5] Three Asian members of this family, Scolopendra cataracta, Scolopendra paradoxa, and Scolopendra alcyona, are known to show amphibious behaviour.[6][7][8][9][10][11] Two other species, Scolopendra hardwickei and Hemiscolopendra marginata, are known to show sexual dimorphism in the composition of their venom.[12][13]
The earliest record of this family is †Cratoraricrus, an extinct genus from the Early Cretaceous of the Crato Formation of Brazil.[20]
Scolopendridae (or, in older documents, Scolopendridæ) is a family of large centipedes (class Chilopoda).
