- Source: Mesoschendyla
Mesoschendyla is a genus of soil centipedes in the family Schendylidae. These centipedes are found in Africa, Madagascar, and Java. The Austrian myriapodologist Carl Attems originally proposed Mesoschendyla in 1909 as a subgenus within the genus Schendyla. The genus Mesochendyla is relatively small, containing only eight species. These centipedes resemble their close relatives in the genera Schendylops and Orygmadyla.
Description
Centipedes in this genus feature fields of pores on the anterior sternites only. The basal element of each of the ultimate legs features a single pore. The ultimate legs do not end in claws.
Centipedes in this genus range from 1 cm to 4 cm in length. These centipedes can have as few as 31 pairs of legs (in the Javanese species M. javanica) or as many as 63 leg pairs (in the African species M. monopora and M. picturata). Both M. javanica and the African species M. franzi measure only 10 mm in length and are notable for their small size. Both M. monopora and M. picturata can reach 40 mm in length and are notable for their large size.
Species
This genus includes the following species:
Mesoschendyla cribrifera Verhoeff, 1937
Mesoschendyla franzi Dobroruka, 1959
Mesoschendyla javanica (Attems, 1907)
Mesoschendyla leachi Crabill, 1968
Mesoschendyla monopora (Attems, 1909)
Mesoschendyla picturata Lawrence, 1966
Mesoschendyla rossi Crabill, 1968
Mesoschendyla weberi Verhoeff, 1940