About Centipedes

Centipedes are, quite literally, the ultimate creepy-crawly. These unique arthropods can grow up to a foot in length, possess more than 300 legs and pack a vicious bite. And while they may give the general public the willies, centipedes are an integral part of almost every ecosystem.

Geography

• Centipedes can be found almost everywhere in the world, from rainforest to woodland and from prairie to desert. Some species have evolved to live on coastlines or riverbanks; others have adapted well to caves. And while the surrounding climate may be dry as a bone, centipedes themselves remain in moist microhabitats, such as leaf litter and logs, in order to survive.

Identification

• In centipedes, each body segment sports one pair of legs (as opposed to millipedes, which have two pairs per segment). The number varies from 15 to 173 pairs (although the total number of pairs is always odd), and the legs extend back behind the body. A unique trait is centipedes' pair of venomous claws, called forcipules or maxillipedes. These claws are actually modified legs, located just behind the head, that function as a set of jaws.

Types

• Thousands of species of centipedes can be classed into five distinct orders. Centipedes from Scutigeromorpha are notoriously fast, and are the only centipedes that still possess compound eyes (which were lost in the other orders as they adapted to burrowing). Relatively short antennae and legs are a distinguishing feature of Lithobiomorpha. Scolopendromorpha is the order most well known to the general public; they are large (at least 21 body segments) and pack a painful bite. Craterostigmomorpha consists of only two species, limited to New Zealand and Australia. And Geophilomorpha are blind, sport spiracles (openings on the body that serve as a respiratory system) on every leg, and include more than a thousand distinct species.

Features

• Centipedes depend on moist habitats in large part because their exoskeleton lacks a waxy covering, resulting in constant water loss. Centipedes are exclusively predatory. Although they are known as generalists---they'll eat almost anything---entomologists suspect that earthworms make up the majority of a centipede's diet, along with spiders. On the other hand, the largest order, Scolopendromorpha, have been seen eating bats, tarantulas and small birds.

Size

• The largest known centipede still in existence is the aptly named Amazonian giant centipede, which can grow up to 12 inches in length. One prehistoric species, however---the Euphoberia, long since extinct---could reach lengths of more than a meter. And while the bite of a smaller centipede might compare to a bee sting, the bite of a giant tropical centipede with its two giant fangs can be excruciating. Such bites can prove particularly dangerous to children.