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. 167
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