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

Tanglehead (Heteropogon contortus)

Tanglehead ( Heteropogon contortus ) is a species of Poaceae, an erect grass, up to 65 cm tall, with leaves up to 13 cm long and 0.5 cm wide. The inflorescence is at the top and hairy. The tip is black. This plant forms dense colonies in forests, agricultural lands, roadsides, and abandoned areas. TAXON : Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Liliopsida Order: Poales Family: Poaceae Subfamily: Panicoideae Tribe: Andropogoneae Subtribe: Anthistiriinae Genus: Heteropogon Pers. in Syn. Pl. 2: 533 (1807) Species: Heteropogon contortus (L.) P.Beauv. in J.J.Roemer & J.A.Schultes, Syst. Veg., ed. 15[bis]. 2: 836 (1817) HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS : Andropogon contortus L. in Sp. Pl.: 1045 (1753) Heteropogon contortus var. hirtus Hack. in C.F.P.von Martius & auct. suc. (eds.), Fl. Bras. 2(3): 267 (1883) Heteropogon hirtus Pers. (1807) Holcus contortus (L.) Stuck. in Anales Mus. Nac. Buenos Aires, ser. 3, 4: 48 (1904) Sorghum contortum (L.) Kuntze in Revis. Gen. ...

Cockspur coral tree (Erythrina crista-galli)

Velvet coral tree or cockspur coral tree ( Erythrina crista-galli ) is a species of plant in the Fabaceae family. It is a small tree, 5-8 meters tall, with a trunk circumference of about 50 cm, irregular branches, light wood, and fissured, soft, and light brown bark. The taproot is white. The leaves are ovate, with three strands, dark green and glossy on the upper surface, and pale green on the underside. The central lobe is up to 17 cm long and up to 11 cm wide. The left and right lobes are up to 15 cm long and up to 10 cm wide. The flowers are red, arranged in racemes, at the apex, pentameric, complete, and bilaterally symmetrical. The flowers are up to 6 cm long and 4 cm wide. The pods are long, containing about 8 seeds, green when young and turning brown as they mature. The seeds are ovate, flat, and brown. It grows well in lowlands up to an elevation of 1,500 meters, with an annual rainfall of 800-1,500 mm/year, and a temperature of 20-32°C. It thrives in well-drained soils, but...

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) manufacture bubble-nets as tools to increase prey intake

NEWS - Humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) create bubble net tools while foraging, consisting of internal tangential rings, and actively control the number of rings, their size, depth and horizontal spacing between the surrounding bubbles. These structural elements of the net increase prey intake sevenfold. Researchers have known that humpback whales create “bubble nets” for hunting, but the new report shows that the animals also manipulate them in a variety of ways to maximize catches. The behavior places humpbacks among the rare animals that make and use their own tools. “Many animals use tools to help them find food, but very few actually make or modify these tools themselves,” said Lars Bejder, director of the Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP), University of Hawaii at Manoa. “Humpback whales in southeast Alaska create elaborate bubble nets to catch krill. They skillfully blow bubbles in patterns that form a web with internal rings. They actively control details such ...