''Mazoscolopendra'' is an extinct genus of scolopendromorph

centipedes Centipedes (from Neo-Latin , "hundred", and Latin language, Latin , "foot") are predatory arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda (Ancient Greek , ''kheilos'', "lip", and Neo-Latin suffix , "foot", describing the forcipules) of the subphyl ...

, and the oldest known member of that order. It existed during the

Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a Geologic time scale, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era that spans 60 million years, from the end of the Devonian Period Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the ...

in what is now

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

(found in

Mazon Creek fossil beds The Mazon Creek fossil beds are a conservation ' found near Morris, in Grundy County, Illinois. The fossils are preserved in ironstone concretions, formed approximately in the mid- Pennsylvanian epoch of the Carboniferous period. These concr ...

). With length up to , this centipede had 21 pedal segments. Although family it belongs to is uncertain, in the original description it is suggested that is close to

Cryptopidae The Cryptopidae are a family of scolopendromorph centipedes. Cryptopids are blind (lacking ocelli) and possess 21 pairs of legs. The genus '' Cryptops'' is the numerically largest in the family, comprising over 150 species worldwide. Classific ...

than to

Scolopendridae Scolopendridae (or, in older documents, Scolopendridæ), from Ancient Greek σκόλοψ (''skólops''), meaning "thorn", and ἔντερον (''énteron''), meaning "earthworm", is a family of large centipedes (class Chilopoda). Description Nea ...

References

Centipede genera Monotypic myriapod genera Scolopendromorpha Carboniferous myriapods Carboniferous arthropods of North America Fossil taxa described in 1979 Prehistoric myriapod genera {{paleo-myriapod-stub