The Brazilian Pantanal biome is one of the largest and most important floodplains in the world by virtue of
its biodiversity and indispensable ecological services on local, regional, and global scales. Despite this importance,
many gaps remain concerning its biodiversity as well as its generation and maintenance mechanisms. In view of
expanding the information about its biological diversity, we compiled a list of Myriapoda (Arthropoda) species
occurring in the Pantanal of Poconé, Mato Grosso, Brazil, based on the records from literature and on the specimens
available in the zoological collections of Federal University of Mato Grosso -UFMT. A total of 33 Myriapoda
species were recorded in the region. The Diplopoda species (20 spp.; 60.6%) are distributed ‘between four orders:
Polydesmida, represented by five families (Chelodesmidae, notably, with three species; Paradoxosomatidae and
Pyrgodesmidae, with two species each; and Cyrtodesmidae and Fuhrmannodesmidae, with one species each,
recently recorded in the region); Spirostreptida, represented by Spirostreptidae, with eight species; Spirobolida, with
two species (one Rhinocricidae and one not identified); and Polyxenida. The Chilopoda (10 spp.; 30.3%) belong
to three orders: Scolopendromorpha, with four species of the family Scolopendridae, two Scolopocryptopidae
species, and one Cryptopidae species; Geophilomorpha, with the families Aphilodontidae and Schendylidae,
with one species each; and Lithobiomorpha, with one Henicopidae species. Symphyla was represented by only
two species (6.1%) of the family Scutigerellidae; and Pauropoda (3.0%) by a single species of Pauropodidae. The
Myriapoda species richness, as well as the high number of new records in recent studies reinforce the importance
of the northern region of the Pantanal biome as a diversity center with potential priority for measures aimed at the
conservation of its many habitats.
