chilopod

English

a chilopod, Scolopendra subspinipes (Chinese red-headed centipede)

Etymology

From Ancient Greek χεῖλος (kheîlos, “lip”) + ποδός (podós) (genitive singular of πούς (poús, “foot, leg”)).

Noun

chilopod (plural chilopods)

Any myriapod of the class Chilopoda, a centipede.
- 2006, G. Eisenbis, 1: Biology of Soil Invertebrates, Helmut König, Ajit Varma (editors), Intestinal Microorganisms of Termites and Other Invertebrates, page 34,
  Consequently most chilopods are carnivorous, searching for earthworms, enchytraeids, and insects.
- 2009, M. Schaefer, S. Migge-Kleian, S. Scheu, Chapter 12: The Role of Soil Fauna for Decomposition of Plant Residues, Rainer Brumme, Partap K. Khanna (editors), Functioning and Management of European Beech Ecosystems, page 223,
  Important predatory groups in the beech forest at Göttinger Wald are chilopods, spiders, carabid and staphylinid beetles and gamasid mites. Chilopods consume a high proportion of collembolan populations and of other saprophagous groups (Poser, 1988, 1991).
- 2013, Rudolf Loesel, Harald Wolf, Matthes Kenning, Steffen Harzsch, Andy Sombke, 13: Architectural Principles and Evolution of the Arthropod Central Nervous System, Alessandro Minelli, Geoffrey Boxshall, Giuseppe Fusco (editors), Arthropod Biology and Evolution: Molecules, Development, Morphology, page 308,
  However, the authors point out that the motoneurons' morphologies are dissimilar in hexapods and chilopods, a fact that argues against a homology of hexapodan and chilopodan longitudinal muscle motoneurons.

Synonyms

(any species of class Chilopoda): centipede

Related terms

chilopodan