Centipede systematics

Our research on centipedes (Chilopoda) includes studies on deep phylogeny and phylogeography, the taxonomy of most major groups, comparative morphology, and palaeontology, including amber fossils from the Mesozoic and Cenozoic.

Chilopoda includes some 3,500 living species. Centipedes' geological record extends back to the Silurian, deep into the history of soil and litter animal assemblages.

Centipede phylogeny 

There is a wide variation in trunk segment numbers between centipede species. Due to this, they have become an important model in evolutionary developmental biology for studies of segmentation.

To understand the evolutionary context of centipede segmentation we need a phylogeny on which gene expression and developmental characteristics can be mapped. We are working to develop a robust phylogenetic tree for Chilopoda.

In collaboration with Prof Gonzalo Giribet of Harvard University, we have produced a dataset for nuclear ribosomal and mitochondrial genes, which samples the major centipede lineages. Increasingly, it also samples the diversity of Chilopoda at finer taxonomic levels and draws on transcriptomic data.

We analyse these data in combination with a large body of morphological evidence. Our current work on higher-level centipede phylogeny expands the molecular coverage and adds novel morphological data.

Scutigeromorph centipedes

The Australian Biological Resources Study supports our systematic work on centipedes as part of its project on the systematics of Australian scutigeromorph centipedes and the phylogeny of the Scutigeromorpha (house centipedes) based on morphological and molecular data.

Our phylogenetic analysis of the Scutigeromorpha, carried out in collaboration with Gonzalo Giribet's lab at Harvard University, uses morphology and sequence data from six molecular markers. Scanning electron microscopy has revealed new characteristics for phylogenetics and taxonomy.

The scutigeromorphs are important for work on arthropod phylogeny because they lie at the base of the centipede tree and display some characteristics (such as compound eyes) not otherwise seen in myriapods.

We are working to document the scutigeromorph fauna of Australia, which includes perhaps one quarter of all global species. Our collections come from extensive surveys by Australian agencies since the 1970s, which include under-sampled regions (notably the arid zone), and from new fieldwork to source material for DNA sequencing.