This genus was described by American naturalist Charles Harvey Bollman in 1889.

[1][2] Centipedes in this genus feature second maxillae with claws fringed by two rows of filaments, transversally elliptical sternal pore-fields on almost all trunk segments, two pores on each coxopleuron, and ultimate legs without claws.

[3] These centipedes range from 16 mm to 67 mm in length, have 35 to 73 pairs of legs, and are found in the tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, Fiji, and west Africa.

[3][4][5] The African species Pectiniunguis minutus is notable not only for being the smallest (no more than 16 mm in length) in this genus but also for having as few as 35 leg pairs (35 in males, 37 or 39 in females), the minimum number in this genus.

[4] The Brazilian species P. ducalis is notable not only for being the largest in this genus (up to 67 mm in length) but also for having as many as 73 leg pairs (63 to 71 in males, 65 to 73 in females), the maximum number in this genus.