![]() ![]() Centipedes are among the largest terrestrial invertebrate predators, and often contribute significantly to the invertebrate predatory biomass in terrestrial ecosystems.Ĭlose-up of the tail-like rear pair of legs of a centipedeĬentipedes have a rounded or flattened head, bearing a pair of antennae at the forward margin. Accordingly, they are found in soil and leaf litter, under stones and dead wood, and inside logs. Within these habitats, centipedes require a moist microhabitat because they lack the waxy cuticle of insects and arachnids, therefore causing them to rapidly lose water. They are found in an array of terrestrial habitats from tropical rainforests to deserts. Centipedes have a wide geographical range, even reaching beyond the Arctic Circle. Worldwide, an estimated 8,000 species of centipedes are thought to exist, of which 3,000 have been described. Cavernicolous (cave-dwelling) and subterranean species may lack pigmentation, while many tropical scolopendromorphs have bright aposematic colors. They normally have a drab coloration combining shades of brown and red. Their size can range from a few millimetres in the smaller lithobiomorphs and geophilomorphs to about 30 cm (12 in) in the largest scolopendromorphs.Ĭentipedes can be found in a wide variety of environments. Like spiders and scorpions, centipedes are predominantly carnivorous. Centipedes always have an odd number of pairs of legs no centipede has exactly 100 legs. Despite the name, centipedes can have a varying number of legs, ranging from 30 to 382. All centipedes are venomous and can inflict painful bites, injecting their venom through pincer-like appendages known as forcipules. Centipedes are elongated segmented ( metameric) creatures with one pair of legs per body segment. A very similar millipede, the yellow spotted millipede, occurs in the Pacific Northwest.Centipedes (from the New Latin prefix centi-, "hundred", and the Latin word pes, pedis, " foot") are predatory arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda ( Ancient Greek χεῖλος, kheilos, lip, and New Latin suffix -poda, "foot", describing the forcipules) of the subphylum Myriapoda, an arthropod group which also includes millipedes and other multi-legged creatures. Yellow and black flat millipedes live 2 to 3 years. As they molt and grow, immature millipedes become darker, the spots get brighter, and they add body segments with each molt. Immature millipedes are pale and have fewer segments and legs than mature millipedes. Eggs hatch after three or more weeks of incubation. Eggs are laid where there is a ready food supply for the newly hatched tiny young. Females lay several hundred eggs in a moist, protected location, commonly under a log. The millipede also protects itself by curling into a ball, resembling a snail. They have 31 pairs of legs (females) or 30 pairs of legs (males). Yellow and black flat millipedes are large (up to 2 inches long), flattened, black arthropods with yellow spots along the sides. ![]() ![]() (At low concentrations, hydrogen cyanide smells like almond extract.) Although hydrogen cyanide is exceedingly toxic, the small amount each millipede produces is not hazardous to human health. ![]() The yellow and black flat millipede, Apheloria tigana, could well be called the almond-scented millipede or the cyanide millipede because of the hydrogen cyanide that it secretes when molested. Description and Biology Skip to Description and Biology ![]()
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