A class of wormlike terrestrial arthropods belonging to the clade or subphylum Myriapoda and comprising the centipedes. These are characterized by a distinct head, bearing a single pair of relatively long antennae and one pair of poison jaws, and 15–177 body segments, each bearing one pair of similar legs. Centipedes are fast-moving predators found in damp environments. See also diplopoda; uniramia.