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by Randy J. Mercurio (Author)
Centipedes are top of the food chain invertebrate predators that form an integral part of ecosystems worldwide. Amazingly, they link the vertebrate and invertebrate worlds through the food web. Unfortunately, habitat destruction and alteration through floral and faunal introductions continue to imperil native microhabitat specialists such as centipedes. There has never been a greater time or need for scientists of different disciplinary backgrounds to cooperate on unraveling the complex mechanisms of ecosystems. Centipedes hold secrets of bioluminescence; chemical defenses, photoreception and much more that we have only begun to comprehend. We desperately need systematists, biologists, ecologists, molecular biologists, microscopists, biochemists and others to coordinate studies that advance our knowledge of centipedes. It is the author's intent for this catalog to serve as a tool in achieving these goals through studying one of the most under admired yet incredible creatures that has roamed the earth for over 400 million years.
