Centipedes are a rough group to identify in North America. The only well-known order, the Scolopendromorpha, was treated by Rowland Shelley in an excellent 2002 monograph (A synopsis of the North American centipedes of the order Scolopendromorpha (Chilopoda)). This was published by the Virginia Museum of Natural History, but is difficult to get ahold of today. (Contact me if you need the PDF, however.) It includes range maps, identification keys, and useful illustrations: a must-have for anyone interested in our centipede fauna.

North America's other two major orders, however, lack such an impressive resource. These are the Lithobiomorpha (stone centipedes) and the Geophilomorpha (the soil centipedes). Today I'll focus on a small section of the Lithobiomorpha, the genus Nadabius.