Proceedings of 

 the United States 

 National Museum 



SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION • WASHINGTON, D.C, 



CENTIPEDES OF THE SMITHSONIAN-BREDIN 

 EXPEDITIONS TO THE WEST INDIES 



By Ralph K. Crabill. Jr. 



Introduction 



This report is based upon the centipedes collected in 1956 and 1958 

 by the Smithsonian-Bredin expeditions to the Lesser Antilles. From 

 the islands in the Leeward and more northern part of the Windward 

 groups, the members of the expeditions amassed sizeable numbers of 

 insects and also some centipedes and millipedes, spiders, scorpions, 

 pseudoscorpions, other arachnids, marine invertebrates, and fishes. 



The centipedes collected by the expeditions are particularly valu- 

 able, first, because they contribute materially to our knowledge of 

 the poorly known fauna inhabiting an area of great zoogeographical 

 interest. Secondly, as we shall see, the presence of certain centi- 

 pedes on these islands provides valuable evidence pertinent to the 

 general problem of explaining the biotic affinities linking South 

 America and Africa. Finally, the centipede collection includes four 

 new species and a new genus — all of considerable interest for the 

 characters ihej display and for their S3^stematic afl&nities. 



I should hke to express my gratitude to J. F. G. Clarke of the Smith- 

 sonian Institution for capturing and carefully preserving these fragile 

 specimens, and to Mr. and Mrs. J. Bruce Bredin, whose interest and 

 generous support made the expeditions possible. 



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