Download Chilopoda (Centipedes)

Janneil Marie Sabillo
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Myriapoda
Class: Chilopoda by Latreille, 1817
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From Greek ἄρθρον árthron, "joint", and ποδός
podós "foot", which together mean "jointed feet“;
Invertebrate animal having an exoskeleton;
Segmented body;
Jointed appendages.
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The group contains 13,000 species, all of which
are terrestrial;
Although their name suggests they have myriad
(10,000) legs, myriapods range from having over
750 legs.
They are fast, predatory and venomous, hunting mostly at
night. There are around 3,300 species, ranging from the
diminutive Nannarup hoffmani (less than half an inch in
length, c. 12 mm) to the giant Scolopendra gigantea,
which may exceed 30 centimetres (12 in).
1. Scutigeromorpha
 Pselliodidae
 Scutigeridae
 Scutigerinidae
2. Lithobiomorpha
 Henicopidae
 Lithobiidae
3. Craterostigmomorpha
 Craterostigmidae
4. Scolopendromorpha
 Cryptopidae
Scolopendridae
 Scolopocryptopidae
5. Geophilomorpha
 Mecistocephalidae
 Neogeophilidade
 Geophilidae
 Linotaeniidae
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Its external stuff is the mouth, antenna,
maxilla, poison claw and walking leg. The
internal things would be the lungs
,stomach, brain and heart.
 Segmented,
linear bodies commonly
flattened
 Centipedes
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◦ 20-300 legs
 Always an odd number of pairs of legs
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Forcipules
◦ Venomous claws
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Bright aposematic colors
◦ Warning colors
Size few millimeters to 30 centimeters
 8,000 species
 Arctic circle, deserts and tropical rainforests
 Require moist environment
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◦ No waxy cuticle
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Biggest invertebrate predators on land
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Most centipedes are adapted for running. The legs
are long to enable them to make long strides.
There does not appear to be any overlap in leg
movements.
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The class is predacious on small arthropods
but some have been observed
Feeding on small toads and snakes. A
captive Scolopendra was kept alive on small
mice.
Prey is located by the antennae. They are
captured or killed by the poison claws. The
Venom is nontoxic to humans but will
produce the effect of a wasp sting. Some
species
Do have extracellular digestion.
Tracheae are the devices for gas exchange. Some
marine forms exist at the intertidal area, and they
probably trap air to last them when submerged.
There is a single pair of Malpighian tubules, but
waste is most often in the form of ammonia instead
of uric acid.
Many lack eyes but some have ocelli in varying
numbers. Some ocelli are so clustered as to form
compound eyes in function, although none have
true compound eyes.
Organs of Tomosvary are found in head at the
base of antennae in many and these seem to
detect vibrations, possibly of an auditory nature.
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Sperm transfer is indirect.
The male constructs a web of silk from glands in the
posterior end of the body.
A spermatophore is emitted and placed in the
webbing.
The female picks it up and places it in her gonopore.
Sexes may palpate each other’s rear end with their
antennae as a courtship ritual.
◦ Broods of 15 to 35 eggs may be laid in hollowed out cavities
of wood or soil.
The female winds her body around the egg mass and stands
guard.
Centipedes are a major component of terrestrial ecosystems
throughout the temperate and tropical regions. Most of them
move in the upper soil levels, among leaf litter and rock
debris, others live deeper in the soil; the scutigeromorphs are
surface-runner or cave-dwellers. Centipede diversity is
highest in forest soils, but representatives of this arthropod
group can be found from littoral shingle to cold montane
prairies, from dump soil to arid ground. All centipedes are
active predators, feeding on small invertebrates, sometimes
even larger than them. The largest invertebrate carnivores in
many terrestrial ecosystems are indeed centipedes.
More than three thousand species have been described to
date, but many other are waiting description. Five main
lineages are recognisable among extant centipedes. The
geophilomorphs are the most diverse and widespread. Of
the other larger groups, the scolopendromorphs are well
represented and diverse in the tropical regions, whereas
the lithobiomorphs dominate in temperate areas. The
very distinctive scutigeromorphs (‘house centipedes’) are
much less diverse, and mainly tropical, while the
craterostigmomorphs are represented by one species only.
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Population
◦ There are probably around 10,000 species
globally, but only around 2,800 have been
described
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Size
◦ 10-270+ mm worldwide; the largest North
American species (Scolopendra heros) grows
to about 153 mm in length
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Habitat
◦ Moist areas such as leaf litter, under logs or
rocks.
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Internet References
http://www.earthlife.net/insects/chilopod.html
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http://www.naturalsciences.org/research/inverts/centiped
es/
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http://www.myriapoda.org/images.html
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A fact sheet on centipedes
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Another fact sheet on centipedes
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A fact sheet on centipedes and millipedes
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http://chilobase.bio.unipd.it - Taxonomic information for
all present-day species in the world
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www.arachnoboards.com - Sexing centipedes.