The search for a common developmental genetic mechanism of body segmentation appears to become more difficult, and more interesting, as new segmented organisms are added to the roster. Recent work in this journal by Brena and Akam on segmentation of the geophilomorph centipede Strigamia maritima, an arthropod distantly related to the standard insect models, contains developmental and evolutionary surprises that highlight the importance of a wider sampling of phyla.See research article: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7007/11/112.