Who are centipedes?
Nature surprises with the variety of insects, but centipedes: who are they and how many legs do they not belong to. A centipede is a well-known creature: scientists have described more than 12,000 species of these animals, which belong to the arthropods. Biologists separate them into a separate superclass with common features of the body structure and unique species features. For example, the number of legs). A centipede has a pair of antennae and two pairs of jaws on its head, the body is divided into segments, each of which has a pair of legs. They are hardly cute. Many people get scared when they see a centipede. But most of them are quite small (from 2 mm) and innocent creatures. Although there are dangerous predators among them – giant 40-centimeter scolopendras.
In nature, centipedes most often live in forests. On plants, soil, trees, grass, and some species. For example, the flycatcher, happily move into human dwellings for the winter.
Why are centipedes called that
The centipede got its funny name because of its unusual appearance. But don’t take it literally – it’s just an animal with many legs. Scientists call them millipedes, and centipede is an old name, colloquial and rather conventional. Once upon a time, the number 40 had an additional, abstract meaning – infinite number, multitude. But if not 40, then how many legs do centipedes actually have?
How many legs does a centipede have
So far, biologists have not been able to find a single centipede with exactly 40 legs. Moreover, millipedes with an even number of pairs of limbs are practically not found in nature. There is only one exception: in 1999, a British student found a millipede. She had 48 pairs, that is, 96 paws. Other species have an odd number of pairs of legs, ranging from 15 to 191. Females of the rare California centipede have 750 legs.
The record holder among animals is a species discovered at the end of 2020.. In the underground wells of Australia, at a depth of 15 to 60 m. It was named after the Greek goddess Persephone, who descended into the underground kingdom of Hades – Eumillipes Persephone. The generic name means a true centipede. This is the first millipede known to science, which has more than 1000 legs. Entomologists counted 1306 legs. This is with a body length of only 9.5 cm, and a thickness of about 1 mm.
It is interesting that scolopendras, the largest millipedes, have much fewer legs – from 42 to 46. However, the front pair turned into mandibles connected to poisonous glands. This feature of the structure is a poison that is deadly for small animals. They allow scolopendras to hunt lizards, mice, frogs and even birds.