Exploring the class Diplopoda: a phylogenetic approach to the family Chelodesmidae (Polydesmida)

• Grant number: 24/16377-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: August 01, 2025
• End date: July 31, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Taxonomy of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Antonio Domingos Brescovit
• Grantee: Rodrigo Salvador Bouzan
• Host Institution: Instituto Butantan. Secretaria da Saúde (São Paulo - Estado). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The family Chelodesmidae, with around 781 species in 177 genera, represents the second-largest family within the entire subphylum Myriapoda. They are distributed in tropical, subtropical, and temperate forests. The family's distribution follows a Gondwanan pattern, occurring in the Afrotropical and Neotropical regions. Currently, the family is divided into two subfamilies: Chelodesminae (with Neotropical species) and Prepodesminae (with predominantly African species). Chelodesminae is the most diverse group within the family, with 140 genera and 639 species, compared to 37 genera and 142 species of the Afrotropical subfamily. Additionally, 19 tribes are described for Chelodesminae and only two for Prepodesminae. However, only 443 species are assigned to a tribal classification, while the remaining 338 species continue with undefined status due to uncertainties regarding the diagnostic characteristics that define them. This project aims to conduct a cladistic analysis based on morphological data in order to assess the current internal structure of Chelodesmidae and to establish the phylogenetic relationships among its tribes and, consequently, their genera. The results of the analyses will allow us to identify the synapomorphies of the group, test the monophyly of the existing subfamilies and tribes. Moreover, we will seek to understand the internal relationships and propose new diagnoses that assist in the correct delimitation of genera and tribes. We also aim to contribute to the knowledge of the family through the description of new taxa and by expanding the distribution with new records.