Skip to main content

Pacific giant centipede (Scolopendra subspinipes)

Pacific giant centipede (Scolopendra subspinipes) is an animal species, very large, up to 20 cm long, has many color variations and is usually red or reddish brown with yellow or orange-yellow legs, active and aggressive predators that prey on any animal that can be defeated.

S. subspinipes has 22 segments with each segment having a border with a black feature and a pair of legs that end in sharp nails. A pair of legs growing on the head covered by a flat shield are forcipules that have claws and are connected to poison glands to kill prey and defenses.

Dlium Pacific giant centipede (Scolopendra subspinipes)


Pacific giant centipede has simple eyes with poor eyesight and is very dependent on touch and chemoreceptors where a pair of long antennas are on the right and left side of the head. The sensor also utilizes a pair of long tails which have four joints that grow in the last segment of the body.

They breathe through S-shaped holes located along the sides of their bodies. This centipede is very aggressive and ready to attack if disturbed and sensitive to vibrations around. Prey spiders, scorpions, vinegaroons, small reptiles, mice and almost every living animal that can be defeated.

S. subspinipes attacks with the last prehensorial foot, then the head is bent quickly backward to implant venomous jaws. Centipedes will use the entire body to encircle prey and attach their legs firmly. Then quickly use forcipules for injection of poison.

Females produce 50-80 eggs which are protected until they hatch and will wrap the baby to keep them safe. Young centipede changes its skin once every year and takes 3-4 years to reach full adult size. They lived for 10 years or more.







Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Myriapoda
Class: Chilopoda
Order: Scolopendromorpha
Family: Scolopendridae
Subfamily: Scolopendrinae
Genus: Scolopendra
Species: Scolopendra subspinipes

Popular Posts

Purwaceng (Pimpinella pruatjan)

Purwaceng or purwoceng or antanan gunung or Viagra of Java ( Pimpinella pruatjan or Pimpinella priatjan ) are small termas growing horizontally in Apiaceae, growing in villages on Dieng Plateau, Central Java Province, Indonesia, at 1,500 to 2,000 meters above sea level, the roots have medicinal properties for aphrodisiacs and are usually processed in powder form for a mixture of coffee or milk. P. pruatjan grows flat on the ground but does not propagate, small leaves are reddish green for 1-3 cm in diameter. This plant is only found in Java and grows in high mountain areas. A low population where industrial demand is very high results in increasingly scarce. Another place that is likely to become a purwaceng habitat is the Iyang Mountains and the Tengger Mountains in East Java Province. Efforts to multiply and cultivate have a big problem where these plants have difficulty producing seeds. In vitro propagation research through tissue cultivation has been carried out to overcome ...

Six new species forming the Sumbana species group in genus Nemophora Hoffmannsegg 1798 from Indonesia

NEWS - Sumbawa longhorn ( Nemophora sumbana Kozlov, sp. nov.), Timor longhorn ( Nemophora timorella Kozlov, sp. nov.), shining shade longhorn ( Nemophora umbronitidella Kozlov, sp. nov.), Wegner longhorn ( Nemophora wegneri Kozlov, sp. nov.), long brush longhorn ( Nemophora longipeniculella Kozlov, sp. nov.), and short brush longhorn ( Nemophora brevipeniculella Kozlov, sp. nov.) from the Lesser Sunda Islands in Indonesia. The Lesser Sunda Islands consist of two parallel, linear oceanic island chains, including Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores, Sumba, Sawu, Timor, Alor, and Tanimbar. The oldest of these islands have been continuously occurring for 10–12 million years. This long period of isolation has allowed significant in situ diversification, making the Lesser Sundas home to many endemic species. This island chain may act as a two-way filter for organisms migrating between the world's two great biogeographic regions, Asia and Australia-Papua. The recognition of a striking cli...

New living fossil, Amethyst worm lizard (Amphisbaena amethysta), from Espinhaço Mountain Range, Brazil

NEWS - New species from the northern Espinhaço Mountains, Caetité municipality, Bahia state, Brazil. Amethyst worm lizard ( Amphisbaena amethysta ) is the 71st species of the genus with 4 precloacal pores and the 22nd species of Caatinga morphoclimatic domain. Identification of the new species shows the reptiles of the Mountains are far from complete and may contain greater diversity of endemic taxa. A. amethysta can be distinguished by its anteriorly convex snout, slightly compressed and unkeeled, pectoral scales arranged in regular annuli, four precloacal pores, distinct head shield, 185-199 dorsal and half annuli, 13-16 caudal annuli, a conspicuous autotomy spot between the 4th-6th caudal annuli, 16-21 dorsal and ventral segments in the middle of the body, 3/3 supralabials, 3/3 infralabials and a smooth and rounded tail tip. A. amethysta occurs in areas with an average elevation of 1000 meters in patches of deciduous and semi-deciduous forests associated with valleys, slopes, fore...