A common terminology for the external morphological characters of centipedes (Chilopoda) is proposed. Terms are selected from the alternatives used in the English literature, preferring those most frequently used or those that have been introduced explicitly. A total of 330 terms are defined and illustrated, and another ca. 500 alternatives are listed.

The discovery of six specimens of the enigmatic order Siphoniulida, including for the first time males, prompted a modern re‐analysis of current phylogenetic schemes for the class Diplopoda derived from traditional morphological and developmental characters. The data matrix was constructed and analysed using paup. The resulting phylogenetic hypotheses corroborated the longest standing, traditional classification, but also demonstrated clearly that more characters must be included to reach a better resolution. Recent alternative phylogenetic hypotheses and classifications are discussed in the light of the current analysis. The validity of a putative helminthomorph synapomorphy, the location of male gonopods on the 7th body ring, is discussed. Scanning electron microscopy corroborated morphological characters already described for the Siphoniulida: modified anterior legs, an apparently legless 3rd body ring, pyriform head, antennae with clavate setae, and absence of ozopores. The highly modified gonopods of the Siphoniulida are described for the first time; only the anterior legs of the 7th ring are modified into gonopods, the posterior legs of this ring are developed as normal walking legs. The gnathochilarium differs from the Colobognatha and consists of well‐developed stipites with palps, elongated lingual plates with palps and a narrow central sclerite, most likely the mentum. Structures on the epiproct may possibly be spinnerets. Despite the discovery of adult males, the Siphoniulida are still considered Helminthomorpha incertae sedis .

The callipodidan milliped, Sinocallipus simplipodicus Zhang, 1993, previously known only from a cave in Yunnan Province, China, is redescribed based on specimens from an epigean habitat in southern Laos, some 600 mi (960 km) south of the type locality. SEM photos of the gonopods, ovipositor, gnathochilarium, midbody exoskeleton, an ozopore, and legs are presented to supplement previously published line drawings; the cannula may be the “functional” element of the gonopod that inseminates females in this species. The Callipodida occupy nine disjunct areas globally, all exclusively in the Northern Hemisphere and most in the North Temperate Zone; there are three regions each in North America, Europe (including coastal regions along the southern Black and eastern Mediterranean seas that are technically part of Asia), and Asia proper. The southeast Asian fauna comprises three families -Sinocallipodidae, one genus and species (suborder Sinocallipodidea), and Schizopetalidae, one genus and species, and Paracortinidae, one genus, three subgenera, and seven species (both suborder Schizopetalidea). An unnamed clade may exist in the Diplopoda in which the gonopods arise solely from the 8th legs (an “8th gonopod clade”); it comprises seven orders: Callipodida, Polydesmida, Chordeumatida, Stemmiulida, Siphoniulida, Spirostreptida, and Epinannolenida. Two newly recognized characters that hold phylogenetic significance are (1) development of the gonopod from the 8th coxa alone (Chordeumatida) or from the coxa plus some telopodal articles (the other six orders), and (2) the presence (Callipodida, Polydesmida, and Stemmiulida) or absence (Chordeumatida, Spirostreptida, and Epinannolenida) of a cannula. These considerations lead to the hypothesis (Chordeumatida + (Callipodida + (Polydesmida + Stemmiulida))).

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Ectonocryptoides quadrimeropus, n. gen., n. sp., is proposed for a minute scolopocryptopid centipede occurring near sea level in coastal Jalisco that is anatomically similar to the unillustrated, written description of Ectonocryptops kraepelini Crabill, 1977, from ca. 1,615 m (5,300 ft) elevation in the interior of Colima. Both possess enlarged, subclavate caudal legs that lack claws and in which the distal podomeres are inflated and bulbous, but this appendage has only 4 articles in the former (tibiae and 1st tarsi enlarged) and 5 in the latter (tibiae and 1st & 2nd tarsi enlarged). The genera cannot be accommodated by an existing subfamily, necessitating proposal of                          Ectonocryptopinae, the fourth scolopocryptopid subfamily, the others being Newportiinae, Kethopinae, and Scolopocryptopinae. A key is provided to the subfamilies and eight component genera; each of the former contains two anatomically similar genera, as Tidops Chamberlin, 1915, is returned to the Newportiinae from the nominate taxon, where it was transferred without justification.  Relationships among the four subfamilies are postulated as Kethopinae + (Scolopocryptopinae + (Ectonocryptopinae + Newportiinae)).

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In northwestern North America, the milliped family Nearctodesmidae is comprised of four genera, Nearctodesmus Silvestri, Kepolydesmus Chamberlin, Ergodesmus Chamberlin, and Bistolodesmus, new genus, and six species, N. insulans (Chamberlin), N. cerasinus (Wood), N. salix Chamberlin, K. anderisus Chamberlin, E. compactus Chamberlin, and B. bonikus (Chamberlin). These species occur along the Pacific coast from San Francisco Bay to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, including all offshore island groups, with an eastward extension into Lewis and Clark County, Montana, east of the Continental Divide. An allopatric population of N. insulanus occurs in the Shuswap Highlands of British Columbia, and an allopatric species, E. remingtoni (Hoffman), inhabits caves in western and southern Illinois. The principal taxonomic characters are the number of secondary projections from the gonopodal telopodite, the configuration of the longer of these, and the length and configuration of the distal zone of the acropodite. Polydesmus bonikus is a nearctodesmid and is assigned to the new genus, Bistolodesmus. The following new synonymies are proposed: Jaliscodesmus Hoffman under Sakophallus Chamberlin; J. alticola Hoffman under S. simplex Chamberlin; N. brunnior, N. campicolens, and N. malkini, all by Chamberlin, under N. cerasinus; N. amissus, N. pseustes, N. renigens, N. carli, and N. boydi, all by Chamberlin, and N. olympus and N. cochlearius, both by Causey, under N. insulanus; K. mimus, K. hesperus, and K. pungo, all by Chamberlin, under K. anderisus; and Ectopodesmus cristatus and E. c. dentatus, both by Loomis and Schmitt, under Ergodesmus compactus. Modern diagnoses and illustrations are presented for the family and all northwestern taxa, along with keys to the genera and species of Nearctodesmus. Accounts and gonopod drawings are also presented of Sakophallus and S. simplex Chamberlin in Michoacan and Jalisco, Mexico.

Metaxycheir pacifica, a new chonaphine xystodesmid milliped from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, inhabits decidous spots in the forests along the Pacific Ocean from Bamfield to China Beach Provincial Park. It displays a subcylindrical body, imparted by reduced paranota caudal to segment 4; an acropodite in the form of a broad, open loop; and an acicular prefemoral process with minute subapical barbules. It is segregated from the type species, M. prolata Buckett and Gardner, in northern Idaho, by over 600 km, and is the second western Canadian xystodesmid. The tribe Chonaphini occupies five areas of allopatric populations: that of M. pacifica; from central Oregon to western Montana; and three areas in the north central and eastern states. The Pacific coastal region harbors the most diverse fauna of western Canada, and a second center of diversity lies around Mount Revelstoke and Glacier national parks. The diplopod fauna of Alaska and western Canada consists of at least 5 orders, 13 families, 22 genera, and 24 species; of these, 5, 10, 16, and 17 are indigenous forms and 2, 4, 6, and 7 are introductions, respectively. The chordeumatoid family Rhiscosomididae and the genus Rhiscosomides are new to Canada; five allochthonus species, Cylindroiulus caeruleocinctus (Wood), Ophyiulus pilosus (Newport), Oxidus gracilis (C. L. Koch), Brachydesmus superus Latzel, and Polydesmus inconstans Latzel, are new to the western provinces; and the Polyxenidae (Polyxenida) and Caseyidae (Chordeumatida) are new to Alaska.