Morphology

The word “Chilopoda” is made up of Greek "cheilos "(labium) and "pous" (podium).  

Chilopoda are soft-bodied and dorso-ventrally flattened, except Scutigeromorpha.

Head capsule bears a pair of antennae, and with or without simple ocelli or paired compound ocelli. The forcipules, evolved from the functional legs, under the head and partially covering the mouthpart, and provide with a poison gland each. 

The trunk has 15 to 181 pairs of legs, one pair to each trunk segment. The number of paired legs is a main character of taxa, Scolopendromorpha with 21 or 23 pairs of legs, Geophilomorpha, 31 to 181 pairs of legs, but Lithobiomorpha, Scutigeromorpha and Craterostigmomorpha, 15 pairs of legs. 

The spiracles paired on Pleurostomatica that includes Scolopendromorpha, Geophilomorpha and Lithobiomorpha, placed on the pleurae between the tergites and the coxae. The spiracles of Scutigeromorpha un paired, placed on the middorsal line near the posterior border of the tergites.