Ongoing Project: 

1. Venom diversity and evolution in scolopendrid centipedes

Animal venoms are a significant source for pharmacological discovery. The predator-prey evolutionary arms race has played a key role in the evolution of venom. Arthropod venoms have evolved for predation and defence, and contain many bioactive compounds. However, compared with studies of venom diversity and evolution in snakes or cone snails, studies documenting venom diversity and evolution in venomous terrestrial predatory arthropods, such as centipedes, are few.

The project uses ecological speciation theory in a multidisciplinary framework to evaluate the role of venom and diet in the speciation of scolopendrid centipedes.

Here is a video of venom extraction

Publications: 

1. Sinha, A., Roy, P., Parikh, R., Marathe, A., Majhi, K., Jenner, R., Joshi, J., 2026. Divergent venoms among two closely related co-distributed centipede species, Scolopendra morsitans and S. hardwickei in tropical Asia. Toxicon, 282, 109265. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2026.109265