Pectiniunguis is a genus of centipedes in the family Schendylidae. This genus was described by American naturalist Charles Harvey Bollman in 1889.[1][2] Centipedes in this genus feature second maxillae with claws fringed by two rows of filaments, transversally elliptical sternal pore-fields on almost all trunk segments, two pores on each coxopleuron, and ultimate legs without claws.[3]

Pectiniunguis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Myriapoda
Class: Chilopoda
Order: Geophilomorpha
Family: Schendylidae
Genus: Pectiniunguis
Bollman, 1889[1]
Type species
Pectiniunguis americanus
Bollman, 1889
Synonyms
  • Adenoschendyla Brölemann & Ribaut, 1911
  • Litoschendyla Chamberlin, 1923

These centipedes range from 16 mm to 67 mm in length, have 35 to 73 pairs of legs, and are found in the tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, Fiji, and west Africa.[3][4][5] The African species Pectiniunguis minutus is notable not only for being the smallest (no more than 16 mm in length) in this genus but also for having as few as 35 leg pairs (35 in males, 37 or 39 in females), the minimum number in this genus.[4] The Brazilian species P. ducalis is notable not only for being the largest in this genus (up to 67 mm in length) but also for having as many as 73 leg pairs (63 to 71 in males, 65 to 73 in females), the maximum number in this genus.[5]

Species

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There are about 24 valid species:[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b Bollman, CH (1889). Howard, LO (ed.). "Scientific results of explorations by the U. S. Fish. Commission Steamer 'Albatross'". Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 12: 211–216 [212].
  2. ^ a b Bonato L.; Chagas Junior A.; Edgecombe G.D.; Lewis J.G.E.; Minelli A.; Pereira L.A.; Shelley R.M.; Stoev P.; Zapparoli M. (2016). "ChiloBase 2.0". A World Catalogue of Centipedes (Chilopoda). Rosario Dioguardi and Giuseppe Cortese, University of Padua. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  3. ^ a b Bonato, Lucio; Edgecombe, Gregory D.; Zapparoli, Marzio (2011). "Chilopoda – Taxonomic overview". In Minelli, Alessandro (ed.). The Myriapoda. Volume 1. Leiden: Brill. pp. 363–443. ISBN 978-90-04-18826-6. OCLC 812207443.
  4. ^ a b Pereira, Luis Alberto (2011). "A further contribution to the knowledge of Pectiniunguis minutus (Demange, 1968), a little known dwarf schendylid centipede from western equatorial Africa (Chilopoda: geophilomorpha)". Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia. 51: 307–323. doi:10.1590/S0031-10492011002000001. hdl:11336/97787. ISSN 0031-1049.
  5. ^ a b Pereira, Luis Alberto (2010-01-01). "Redescription of Pectiniunguis gaigei (Chamberlin, 1921) from Guyana, with new distributional data and complementary descriptive notes on similar neotropical species (Chilopoda: Geophilomorpha: Schendylidae)" (PDF). Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia (in Portuguese). 50 (20): 297–321. doi:10.1590/S0031-10492010002000001. ISSN 1807-0205.