cormoGen1=<FONT COLOR="#660033"><FONT SIZE="22"><B>Craterostigmorpha</B><P></P><FONT COLOR="#666666"><FONT SIZE="20">The Craterostigmorpha possess characters of both lithobioid and scolopendroid centipedes (Lewis 1981: 4; Hoffman 1982: 683) and has been regarded as a separate order by Lewis (1981) and others because it is so different from the Lithobiomorpha and the Scolopendromorpha. <I>Craterostigmus</I> is regarded by Edgecombe et al. (1999) as the sister taxon to the Epimorpha in the strict sense (Scolopendromorpha + Geophilomorpha). Epimorpha in the loose sense includes the Craterostigmomorpha. Assigning the Craterostigmorpha to any other order would create a paraphyletic group (Shear and Bonamo, 1988; Edgecombe et al. 1999).Diagnostic features include cephalic plate detached from tergite I; no pores on the coxae of the posterior five sets of legs; a long apical spine present on the trochanter 15 and 15 and the final leg-bearing segment is longer than wide Hoffman 1982: 683. 
The Craterostigmorpha only contains the species <I>Craterostigmus tasmanianus</I> Pocock, found in Tasmania and New Zealand. Lewis (1981: 428) states "There are at least two species (Crabill, personal communication)." The Craterostigmidae have a reduced cephalic plate (Hoffman 1982: 683), an elongate head, one pair of ocelli, and antennae with either 17 or 18 segments (Lewis 1981:36). The maxillipedes extend in front of the head capsule and the 1st and 2nd maxillae are similar to those of the Scolopendromorpha (Lewis 1981: 36). This characteristic, along with the flattening of the head, suggest that these centipedes feed by capturing prey within crevices and dragging it out to eat it (Manton 1965: 313).
A character unique to <I>Craterostigmus</I> is the pointed terminal capsule which encloses the anal region and genital organs. No other centipede is known to have this feature. Members of the family have 21 tergites and only 15 pairs of legs, also an unusual feature, as most species (except the Scutigeridae) have an equal number of tergites and leg pairs (Edgecombe 2001: 47).
<I>Craterostigmus tasmanianus</I> is active throughout the year. It is found in forest throughout Tasmania from sea level to at least 1300m.. Eggs are laid in clutches of 50-60 and females can be found brooding eggs and young between September and April (Mesibov, 1994). 
References 
Edgecombe, G. (2001). Centipedes: the great Australian bite. Nature Australia, Autumn 2001: 42-51.
Edgecombe, G.D., Giribet, G. and Wheeler, W.C. (1999) Phylogeny of Chilopoda: combining 18s and 28s rRNA sequences and morphology. Boletin de la Sociedad Entomologica Aragonesa no. 26: 321-331.
Hoffmann, R.L. (1982). Chilopoda.  pp. 681 - 688 in Parker, S. (ed.) Synopsis and Classification of Living Organisms.  New York: McGraw-Hill Vol. 2.
Lewis, J.G.E. (1981). The Biology of Centipedes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press vii 476 pp.
Manton, S.M. (1965). The evolution of arthropod locomotory mechanisms. Part 8. Functional requirements and body design in Chilopoda, together with a comparative account of their skeletomuscular systems and an appendix on the comparison between burrowing forces of annelids and chilopods and its bearing upon the evolution of the anthropodan haemocoel. J. Linn. Soc. London Zool. 46: 251-483.
Mesibov, B. (1994) Tasmania and its myriapods. Bulletin of the British Myriapod Group. 10: 51-58.
Shear, W.A. and Bonamo, P.M. (1988). Devonobiomorpha, a new order of centipedes (Chilopoda) from the middle Devonian of Gilboa, New York State, USA, and the phylogeny of centipede orders. American Museum Novitates No. 2927: 1 - 30