Scolopendra is a genus of centipede

Centipede

Centipedes are arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda of the subphylum Myriapoda. They are elongated metameric animals with one pair of legs per body segment. Despite the name, centipedes can have a varying number of legs from under 20 to over 300. Centipedes have an odd number of pairs of...

s of the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Scolopendridae

Scolopendridae

Scolopendridae is a family of large centipedes .-Selected genera:* Alipes Imhoff, 1854 * Alluropus Silvestri, 1911* Arthrorhabdus Pocock, 1891...

.

Description

In temperate climates, only relatively small species occur, but species from the tropics

Tropics

The tropics is a region of the Earth surrounding the Equator. It is limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately  N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at  S; these latitudes correspond to the axial tilt of the Earth...

 may exceed 30 centimetres (11.8 in).

Ecology and venom

They are active predators taking prey as large as rodent

Rodent

Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....

s and even bat

Bat

Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...

s. Their bites

Arthropod bites and stings

Many species of arthropods regularly or occasionally bite or sting human beings. Insect saliva contains anticoagulants and enzymes that cause local irritation and allergic reactions. Insect venoms can be delivered by their stingers, which often are modified ovipositors, or by their mouthparts....

 are very painful, but are rarely fatal in humans. The venom

Venom

Venom is the general term referring to any variety of toxins used by certain types of animals that inject it into their victims by the means of a bite or a sting...

 is delivered through the animal's forcipules, which lie just behind the mandibles

Mandible (arthropod)

thumb|250px|The mandibles of a [[Bull ant]]The mandible of an arthropod is either of a pair of mouthparts used for biting, cutting and holding food. Mandibles are often simply referred to as jaws. Mandibles are present in the extant subphyla Myriapoda , Crustacea and Hexapoda...

. The venoms of Scolopendra species contain compounds such as serotonin

Serotonin

Serotonin or 5-hydroxytryptamine is a monoamine neurotransmitter. Biochemically derived from tryptophan, serotonin is primarily found in the gastrointestinal tract, platelets, and in the central nervous system of animals including humans...

, haemolytic

Hemolysis

Hemolysis —from the Greek meaning "blood" and meaning a "loosing", "setting free" or "releasing"—is the rupturing of erythrocytes and the release of their contents into surrounding fluid...

 phospholipase

Phospholipase

A phospholipase is an enzyme that hydrolyzes phospholipids into fatty acids and other lipophilic substances. There are four major classes, termed A, B, C and D, distinguished by the type of reaction which they catalyze:*Phospholipase A...

 A, a cardiotoxic

Cardiotoxicity

Cardiotoxicity is the occurrence of heart electrophysiology dysfunction or/and muscle damage. The heart becomes weaker and is not as efficient in pumping and therefore circulating blood...

 protein

Protein

Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...

 and a cytolysin

Cytolysin

Cytolysin refers to the substance or antibody elaborated by microorganisms, plants or animals that is specifically toxic to individual cells, in many cases causing their dissolution through lysis. Cytolysins that have a specific action for certain cells are named accordingly...

.

Taxonomic history

Scolopendra was one of the genera created by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition

10th edition of Systema Naturae

The 10th edition of Systema Naturae was a book written by Carl Linnaeus and published in two volumes in 1758 and 1759, which marks the starting point of zoological nomenclature...

 of Systema Naturae

Systema Naturae

The book was one of the major works of the Swedish botanist, zoologist and physician Carolus Linnaeus. The first edition was published in 1735...

, the starting point for zoological nomenclature. Only two of the species originally assigned to the genus remain so: Scolopendra gigantea

Scolopendra gigantea

Scolopendra gigantea is the largest representative of the genus Scolopendra, regularly reaching lengths of and can exceed . It inhabits the northern and western regions of South America and the islands of Trinidad, Puerto Rico, Saint Thomas, U.S...

and S. morsitans; the latter was chosen to be the type species

Type species

In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...

 by Opinion 454 of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature

International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature

The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature is an organization dedicated to "achieving stability and sense in the scientific naming of animals". Founded in 1895, it currently comprises 28 members from 20 countries, mainly practicing zoological taxonomists...

, overruling a previous designation by Pierre André Latreille

Pierre André Latreille

Pierre André Latreille was a French zoologist, specialising in arthropods. Having trained as a Roman Catholic priest before the French Revolution, Latreille was imprisoned, and only regained his freedom after recognising a rare species he found in the prison, Necrobia ruficollis...

, in which he chose Linnaeus' Scolopendra forficata (now Lithobius forficatus

Lithobius forficatus

Lithobius forficatus , most commonly known as the brown centipede, is a common European centipede of the family Lithobiidae, although its distribution is not exclusive to Europe...

) as the type species.

Species

The genus Scolopendra contains the following species:

• Scolopendra abnormis
  Scolopendra abnormis
  Scolopendra abnormis is a species of centipede in the family Scolopendridae. It is endemic to Mauritius....
  
  Lewis & Daszak, 1996
• Scolopendra afer (Meinert, 1886)
• Scolopendra algerina Newport, 1845
• Scolopendra alternans Leach, 1813
• Scolopendra andhrensis Jangi & Dass, 1984
• Scolopendra angulata Newport, 1844
• Scolopendra angusticollis Murray, 1887
• Scolopendra anomia Newport, 1844
• Scolopendra appendiculata Daday, 1891
• Scolopendra arborea Lewis, 1982
• Scolopendra arenicola (Lawrence, 1975)
• Scolopendra arthrorhabdoides Ribaut, 1912
• Scolopendra attemsi Lewis, Minelli & Shelley, 2006
• Scolopendra aztecorum Verhoeff, 1934
• Scolopendra calcarata Porat, 1876
• Scolopendra canidens Newport, 1844
• Scolopendra childreni Newport, 1844
• Scolopendra chlora Chamberlin, 1942
• Scolopendra chlorotes C. L. Koch, 1856
• Scolopendra cingulata
  Scolopendra cingulata
  Scolopendra cingulata, also known as the Megarian banded centipede, and the Mediterranean banded centipede is a species of centipede, and "the most common scolopendromorph species in the Mediterranean area".-Description:...
  
  Latreille, 1829
• Scolopendra clavipes C. L. Koch, 1847
• Scolopendra concolor Newport, 1845
• Scolopendra crassa Templeton, 1846
• Scolopendra cretica Attems, 1902
• Scolopendra cribrifera Gervais, 1847
• Scolopendra crudelis C. L. Koch, 1847
• Scolopendra dalmatica C. L. Koch, 1847
• Scolopendra ellorensis Jangi & Dass, 1984
• Scolopendra fissispina L. Koch, 1865
• Scolopendra foveolata Verhoeff, 1937
• Scolopendra galapagoensis Bollman, 1889
• Scolopendra gigantea
  Scolopendra gigantea
  Scolopendra gigantea is the largest representative of the genus Scolopendra, regularly reaching lengths of and can exceed . It inhabits the northern and western regions of South America and the islands of Trinidad, Puerto Rico, Saint Thomas, U.S...
  
  Linnaeus, 1758
• Scolopendra gracillima Attems, 1898
• Scolopendra hardwickei Newport, 1844
• Scolopendra hermosa Chamberlin, 1941
• Scolopendra heros Girard, 1853
• Scolopendra horrida C. L. Koch, 1847
• Scolopendra inaequidens Gervais, 1847
• Scolopendra indiae (Chamberlin, 1914)
• Scolopendra indica Meinert, 1886
• Scolopendra inermipes C. L. Koch, 1847
• Scolopendra inermis Newport, 1845
• Scolopendra jangii Khanna & Yadav, 1997
• Scolopendra koreana (Verhoeff, 1934)
• Scolopendra labiata C. L. Koch, 1863
• Scolopendra laeta Haase, 1887
• Scolopendra langi (Chamberlin, 1927)
• Scolopendra latro Meinert, 1886
• Scolopendra limicolor Wood, 1861
• Scolopendra lucasii Gervais, 1847
• Scolopendra lutea (Attems, 1928)
• Scolopendra madagascariensis Attems, 1910
• Scolopendra malkini Chamberlin, 1955
• Scolopendra mazbii Gravely, 1912
• Scolopendra media (Muralewicz, 1926)
• Scolopendra melionii Lucas, 1853
• Scolopendra metuenda Pocock, 1895
• Scolopendra michoacana Chamberlin, 1941
• Scolopendra mima Chamberlin, 1942
• Scolopendra mirabilis (Porat, 1876)
• Scolopendra monticola (Lawrence, 1975)
• Scolopendra morsitans Linnaeus, 1758
• Scolopendra multidens Newport, 1844
• Scolopendra negrocapitis Zhang & Wang, 1999
• Scolopendra nuda (Jangi & Dass, 1980)
• Scolopendra occidentalis F. Meinert, 1886
• Scolopendra octodentata Verhoeff, 1934
• Scolopendra oraniensis Lucas, 1846
• Scolopendra pachygnatha Pocock, 1895
• Scolopendra paranuda (Khanna & Tripathi, 1987)
• Scolopendra pentagramma Motschoulsky, 1886
• Scolopendra pinguis Pocock, 1891
• Scolopendra polymorpha
  Scolopendra polymorpha
  Scolopendra polymorpha, the common desert centipede, tiger centipede, banded desert centipede, or Sonoran Desert centipede, is indigenous to the Southwestern United States and Northern Mexico, up to the Pacific coast...
  
  Wood, 1861
• Scolopendra pomacea C. L. Koch, 1847
• Scolopendra puncticeps Wood, 1861
• Scolopendra punensis Jangi & Dass, 1984
• Scolopendra robusta Kraepelin, 1903
• Scolopendra sanatillae Bollman, 1893
• Scolopendra silhetensis Newport, 1845
• Scolopendra spinipriva Bücherl, 1946
• Scolopendra spinosissima Kraepelin, 1903
• Scolopendra subspinipes
  Scolopendra subspinipes
  Scolopendra subspinipes is a species of centipede occasionally reaching 19 cm in length. This is large for a centipede, but there are several larger species. It is found throughout tropical and subtropical regions of the world, and is one of only three species of centipedes in Hawaii. It is...
  
  Leach, 1815
• Scolopendra sumichrasti Saussure, 1860
• Scolopendra tenuitarsis Pocock, 1895
• Scolopendra valida Lucas, 1840
• Scolopendra violacea Fabricius, 1798
• Scolopendra viridicornis Newport, 1844
• Scolopendra viridipes Dufour, 1820
• Scolopendra viridis Say, 1821
• Scolopendra zuluana (Lawrence, 1958)