Taxonomic Studies on Scolopendrid Centipedes (Chilopoda: Scolopendromorpha) of Kerala State, India

About this book

Language: English

Scolopendromorpha (Chilopoda: Scolopendromorpha) are a diverse group of invertebrate communities which play significant, but often poorly acknowledged or understood roles in the delivery of soil ecosystem services. The major objectives of the present work were to make a systematic revision of the Scolopendromorphic centipedes of Kerala from the habitats of southern Western Ghats by undertaking extensive field surveys and collection of specimens from different soil ecosystems, to describe new taxa and redescribe known taxa based on the material collected through field surveys and study collections in museum depositories, to prepare identification keys to genera and species of Scolopendromorpha occurring in Kerala, and to provide basic knowledge about the ecology of Scolopendrid centipedes of Kerala. The study provides the taxonomic details of 32 species belonging to nine genera and two families. Of these, two species were described as new to science.

Contents

1. Introduction
2. Major studies on Scolopendromorpha in Kerala
3. Materials and methods
4. Terminology
5. Systematics
6. Form of presentation
7. Taxonomic account
8. Discussion
9. Summary
10. Acknowledgements
11. References

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