Taxonomy and Identification of the Genus Scolopendra in China Using Integrated Methods of External Morphology and Molecular Phylogenetics.

ABSTRACT: The centipede Scolopendra has important medicinal value and high toxicity, making it to be an interesting subject for evolutionary studies. However, species identification in China is difficult because of limited resource exploration and lack of recent taxonomic revision. To improve the identification and taxonomy of the genus Scolopendra in China, an in-depth investigation was conducted, and an integrated method that combined morphological characteristics with molecular data was applied. The identification key was revised to show the main difference among species. Our results indicated that morphologically-delimited species were consistent with the molecular analysis inferred from the COI sequences with genetic distances and phylogenetic trees. Additional morphometrics of four characteris

SUBMITTER: Kang S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5700134 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature