This genus was first proposed by the American biologistOrator F. Cook in 1899 for the type species originally named Schendyla grandidieri in 1897. In the decades that followed, however, authorities largely ignored or neglected this genus, instead using other genera to contain new species. For example, in 1907, the Italian zoologistFilippo Silvestri ignored Schendylops and instead introduced Schendylurus as a new genus to contain the newly discovered species S. australis, which he described and designated as the type species. In 1912, the French zoologists Henri W. Brölemann and Henri Ribaut not only accepted Schendylurus as a genus but also described Ploutoschendylurus as a new subgenus in that genus. Furthermore, in 1950, the American biologist Ralph V. Chamberlin introduced Nesondyla as a new genus to contain the newly discovered species N. neolota, which he described and designated as the type species. In 1997, however, the zoologists Richard L. Hoffman and Luis A. Pereira deemed not only Schendylurus but also Ploutoschendylurus and Nesondyla be junior synonyms for Schendylops. Accordingly, two other genus names, Koepckeiella and Schendylota, which had previously been deemed to be junior synonyms for Schendylurus, also became junior synonyms for Schendylops.
Description
Centipedes in this genus feature second maxillae that each end in a claw fringed by two rows of filaments, one on the dorsal edge and the other on the ventral edge. The pleurites of the second maxillae are not fused to the adjacent coxosternite. The sternites feature fields of pores on at least some leg-bearing segments. The basal element of each of the ultimate legs (coxopleuron) features two pores. These pores connect to coxal organs with a simple structure (with each pore connecting to a single gland through a single duct that does not branch) rather than a composite structure (with multiple ducts from distinct glands converging to connect to each pore). Each of the ultimate legs features seven segments and a distal end with no claw, which is either absent or replaced by a small spine or a hairy tubercle.
Species in this genus range from 1 to 7cm (0.39 to 2.76in) in length and have from 27 to 87 pairs of legs. Females of the African species S. caledonicus have from 81 to as many as 87 pairs, the maximum recorded in this genus. This species is also notable for its large size, reaching 65mm (2.6in) in length. Other species in this genus noted for their large size include the Brazilian species S. demelloi and S. gounellei, which can each reach 70 mm (2.8 in) in length.
This genus includes the two species that feature the fewest legs (27 pairs) in the order Geophilomorpha. Both of these species are found in Brazil: males in the species S. ramirezi have only 27 pairs of legs, while females have 29, and males in the species S. oligopus have 27 or 29 (usually 29), while females have 31. Furthermore, S. ramirezi is one of only two species in this order in which females have only 29 leg pairs (the other species, Dinogeophilus oligopodus, has 29 in each sex). Both S. ramirezi and S. oligopus are also notable for their small sizes, reaching only 7 mm and 10 mm in length, respectively.
Phylogeny
A phylogenetic analysis of the orderGeophilomorpha using both molecular data and morphology places a representative of the genus Schendylops (S. pampeanus) in a clade with a representative of Pectiniunguis, another genus in the family Schendylidae. This phylogenetic tree suggiests that the genera Schendylops and Pectiniunguis are more closely related to one another than any other genera included in this analysis. These two close relatives form a sister group for another genus in the same family, Nannophilus, which emerges as the next closest relative included in this analysis.
The closely related genera Schendylops and Pectiniunguis share an extensive set of traits. For example, both of these genera feature claws on the second maxillae with rows of filaments on the dorsal and ventral edges, second maxillae with pleurites not fused to the posterior border of the coxosternite, and sternites with pore fields on at least some segments. Furthermore, both genera feature ultimate legs with two pores on each coxopleuron but no claw, which is either absent or replaced by a small spine or hairy tubercle. These two genera can be distinguished, however, based on the coxal organs of the coxopleuron, which have a simple structure in Schendylops but a composite structure in Pectiniunguis.
↑Cook, O. F. (1899). "The Geophiloidea of Florida Keys". Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 4: 303–312 [305] – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
