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Phylogenetic relationships of two morphologically similar scolopendrid genera, Rhysida Wood, 1862, and Alluropus Silvestri, 1912, were investigated based on broad-scale taxonomic sampling from SE Asia, India and Australia. Morphological revision and molecular phylogenetics using three loci validate seven Rhysida species in SE Asia and Australia: R. lithobioides (Newport, 1845), R. longipes (Newport, 1845), R. immarginata (Porat, 1876), R. nuda (Newport, 1845), R. carinulata (Haase, 1887), R. singaporiensis Verhoeff, 1937 and R. polyacantha Koch, 1985. The nominal SE Asian species R. leviventer Attems, 1953 and R. marginata Attems, 1953 are placed in junior subjective synonymy with R. lithobioides and Alluropus calcaratus (Pocock, 1891), respectively. The monotypic genus Alluropus is redescribed, molecular phylogeny recovering it nesting together with Indo-Australian Rhysida. Taxonomic revision reassigned R. calcarata Pocock, 1891 to Alluropus based on its morphological and molecular similarity to the type, A. demangei Silvestri, 1912, the differences between putative species being sexual variation. Two morphologically distinct allopatric populations of A. calcaratus , comb. nov. (= A. demangei , syn. nov.) were found in the Indochina subregion. Phylogenetic relationships in Otostigminae remain unsettled because clades within several genera lack significant support, although Rhysida consistently falls into two clades that are not each other's closest relative. Molecular phylogeny has proven invaluable in identifying species in the mostly tropical centipede family Scolopendridae. Revision of SE Asian species of the scolopendrid genera Rhysida and Alluropus is based on classical external morphological characters for clades underpinned by multi-gene trees. The previously enigmatic Alluropus is found to be widespread throughout SE Asia, the supposedly diagnostic characters of its type species reflecting sexual variation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The centipede genus Scolopendra in mainland Southeast Asia is reviewed taxonomically based on morphological characters, informed by a molecular phylogenetic analysis using sequences from three mitochondrial and nuclear genes (COI, 16S rRNA and 28S rRNA). Eight nominal species of Scolopendra, namely S. morsitans Linnaeus, 1758, S. subspinipes Leach, 1816, S. dehaani Brandt, 1840, S. multidens Newport, 1844, S. calcarata Porat, 1876, S. japonica Koch, 1878, S. pinguis Pocock, 1891, and S. dawydoffi Kronmüller, 2012, are redescribed together with some revision of type materials. Geographical variation in each species has been compiled with reference to samples that span their distribution ranges in Southeast Asia and some parts of neighbouring areas such as East Asia, the Indian Ocean, and Africa. Comparative study of traditional taxonomic characters from external morphology provides further information to distinguish some closely related species. Scolopendra cataracta Siriwut, Edgecombe & Panha, sp. n., is described from the southern part of Laos, with additional records in Thailand and Vietnam. The phylogenetic framework for Southeast Asian Scolopendra recognizes S. calcarata + S. pinguis, S. morsitans, and a S. subspinipes group that unites the other six species as the main clades. Within the S. subspinipes group, two monophyletic groups can be distinguished by having either slender or short, thick ultimate leg prefemora and different numbers of apical spines on the coxopleuron. Scolopendra arborea Lewis, 1982, is placed in subjective synonymy with S. dehaani. A survey of external morphology of the genital segments confirms its potential for improving species identification in Scolopendra. Some observations on biology and behaviour are recorded based on field surveys in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seven Scolopendra species from the Southeast Asian mainland delimited based on standard external morphological characters represent monophyletic groups in phylogenetic trees inferred from concatenated sequences of three gene fragments (cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1, 16S rRNA and 28S rRNA) using Maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference. Geometric morphometric description of shape variation in the cephalic plate, forcipular coxosternite, and tergite of the ultimate leg-bearing segment provides additional criteria for distinguishing species. Colouration patterns in some Scolopendra species show a high degree of fit to phylogenetic trees at the population level. The most densely sampled species, Scolopendra dehaani Brandt, 1840, has three subclades with allopatric distributions in mainland SE Asia. The molecular phylogeny of S. pinguis Pocock, 1891, indicated ontogenetic colour variation among its populations. The taxonomic validation of S. dawydoffi Kronmüller, 2012, S. japonica Koch, 1878, and S. dehaani Brandt, 1840, each a former subspecies of S. subspinipes Leach, 1814 sensu Lewis, 2010, as full species was supported by molecular information and additional morphological data. Species delimitation in these taxonomically challenging animals is facilitated by an integrative approach that draws on both morphology and molecular phylogeny. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maternal care is shared by three of the five living orders of centipedes and is generally thought to have a single evolutionary origin in this group. Literature on brooding behaviour in the order Scolopendromorpha is scattered, with observations available for six genera. Brooding in the diverse genus Otostigmus Porat, 1876, with ca 120 species mostly distributed in the tropics, has been documented in only two species from Brazil. Six broods of O. spinosus representing different embryonic and adolescent (post-embryonic) stages are documented from southern Thailand. Size of the brood is similar to other species of Otostigmus, and this species exhibits filial cannibalism also documented in the Neotropical O. scabricauda. Otostigmus spinosus is redescribed with emphasis on a large sample of Thai material and is reported from Laos for the first time. Sexual dimorphism is apparently exhibited by a distal projection on tarsus 1 of legs 20 and 21 in males. Considerable variability in taxonomic characters within and between populations renders a consistent distinction from O. punctiventer (Tömösváry, 1885) less clear-cut than previously suspected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]