Centipede

Quick Take

• Despite having a name that literally means '100 legs,' no centipede has ever had exactly 100, and the reason why is a quirk of biology. See the leg count quirk →
• These nearly blind hunters can track, paralyze, and kill prey in ways that defy what you'd expect from an eyeless creature. Discover how they hunt →
• The world's largest centipede doesn't just eat insects. Its menu includes animals most people would never guess. Explore their surprising menu →
• Finding centipedes in your bathroom isn't bad luck. There's a specific biological reason they're drawn there. Find out why bathrooms →

Centipedes are predatory arthropods with flat, segmented bodies. These multi-legged creatures can range in size from a few millimetres to over a foot. Because they lack a hard outer skeleton, centipedes must spend most of their time near water. This is why centipedes prefer damp habitats. You can find them hiding under mulch or in bathroom and kitchen drains. It’s also why they are more active at night.

6 Incredible Centipede Facts

• Even though their name means “100 legs,” no centipede has 100 legs. That’s because every centipede has an odd number of pairs of legs.
• Centipede hatchlings are born with four pairs of legs. As they mature, they develop more legs.
• A female can have 150 babies in her lifetime.
• The house centipede of the Mediterranean region, now widespread across Europe, Asia, and North America, is the species most commonly found in homes.
• The biggest centipede species in the world is Scolopendra gigantea, a tropical bug that can grow over a foot long.
• Scolopendra galapagoensis, also known as Darwin’s Goliath Centipede, is a large, poisonous species found on the Galapagos Islands, mainland South America (Ecuador and Peru), and Cocos Island in Costa Rica.

Evolution and Origins

Centipedes belong to the class Chilopoda and have a rich evolutionary history that dates back to the Late Silurian period, over 430 million years ago. Fossil evidence indicates that the earliest centipedes were similar in size and shape to modern species, with long, segmented bodies and numerous legs.

Over the course of their evolution, centipedes have diversified into several different groups, each adapted to a specific habitat and way of life. Some species have adapted to living in forests, while others have evolved to live in caves, deserts, or grasslands.

Despite their long history, centipedes have undergone relatively little change over time. This is due in part to the fact that they are well-adapted to their environments and have been successful in colonizing a variety of habitats.

Classification and Scientific Name

These animals belong to the phylum Arthropoda and class Chilopoda. They are part of the phylum Arthropoda and subphylum Atelocerata.

The name Chilopoda comes from the Greek words cheilos, meaning lip, and pod, meaning foot.

Millipedes and centipedes belong to the same subphylum but are not in the same class. Millipedes belong to the class Diplopoda.

There are approximately 3,000 species. They range in size and color from the huge Scolopendra gigantea to the one-inch house centipede found in most homes.

Tropical species are brightly colored and may have red, yellow, blue, and green segments. Smaller centipedes that live in temperate climates are more likely to be brown or gray in color.

All of them are instantly recognizable by their segmented body and many pairs of legs. The number of leg pairs can vary from 15 to 191.

Most of these animals belong to the following orders:

• Scutigeromorpha
• Lithobiomorpha
• Craterostigmomorpha
• Scolopendromorpha
• Geophilomorpha
• House Centipede
• Scolopendridae
• Scolopendra
• Scolopendromor
• Geophilomorpha
• Stone centipedes

Appearance

House centipedes range in size from one to six inches. They move extremely fast on their long legs, but you can easily identify them when you see them.

How do you tell millipedes and centipedes apart? Millipedes have a lot of legs, but their legs are short and stubby. They move slowly and carefully. Centipedes, on the other hand, have long legs that let them move quickly.

Another difference is that millipedes don’t bite, but centipedes do. However, although venomous, the bites of all centipedes—including house centipedes—are generally harmless to humans.

Tropical species are large and colorful. The largest known species is the Scolopendra gigantea, which is also known as the Peruvian giant centipede. This tropical beast is brightly colored and can reach more than a foot in length. You are not likely to see tropical centipedes inside homes.

Habitat

Centipedes live in both temperate and tropical regions, where you are likely to find them living under fallen logs, bark, mulch, and stones.

Most of them are active on the ground, but others can burrow into soft soil. Tropical species usually live in trees and inside caves.

The species Scutigera coleoptrata is also known as the house centipede. You often find house centipedes indoors, where they like to live in bathrooms because of the damp conditions.

Diet

These animals are carnivorous predators. Their favorite prey is small insects, including beetles, termites, beetle larvae, and earthworms. Large tropical centipedes feed on lizards, birds, bats, frogs, snakes, and mice.

These animals are almost blind, and burrowing centipedes have no eyes. Despite this inability to see, they are excellent hunters. They have long antennae that can detect nearby prey. When they find prey, they use their front legs to grab it. Their front legs have sharp pincers that contain venom. Their venom can paralyze the prey or kill it instantly.

Burrowing centipedes use their pincers to dig into the earth. They feed on earthworms, snails, and nematodes.