What are centipedes?
Centipedes are one of the largest terrestrial carnivorous invertebrates, with some species reaching up to 30 centimetres in length.
Centipedes belong to the invertebrate group Myriapoda and the class Chilopoda. As a myriapod, centipedes have segmented bodies, many legs, antennae and breathing holes called spiracles. Centipedes are also equipped with venomous claws behind their head which help them paralyse their prey.
The local Darug people of the Sydney basin refer to centipedes as garagun, djingaring and ganaray.
Do centipedes have 100 legs?
Although the name centipede means 100-footed, centipedes do not actually have 100 legs. Centipedes have one pair of legs per body segment.
The total number of legs a centipede has depends upon the number of body segments its species has. The lowest number of leg pairs in a centipede species is 15, whilst the highest is 191. The number of leg pairs a centipede has is always an odd number.
What is the difference between a centipede and a millipede?
Both centipedes and millipedes are myriapods, meaning they both have body segments and many legs. Centipedes have one pair of legs per body segment whilst millipedes have two pairs.
Centipedes are predators and have venomous claws and a flattened body for hunting in the leaf litter. Millipedes eat rotting leaf litter and have a rounded body and no venomous or grapsping body parts.
Where do centipedes live?
Centipedes are found under rocks and rotting logs, in leaf litter and inside old logs. In these habitats they are an important part of the ecosystem as they are important predators which control other invertebrate populations. They also provide an important food source for animals such as birds, reptiles and small mammals.
What do centipedes eat?
Invertebrates, spiders, slaters and pill bugs make up a large portion of the centipede diet. Some larger species of centipedes have been known to eat reptiles, amphibians, small mammals and birds.
How are centipedes adapted to their environment?
Some centipedes can be hard to find as they are camouflaged to blend in with the environment. Others are brightly coloured to warn predators that they may be poisonous to eat.
Centipedes have their first pairs of legs folded under their mouth parts. These end in sharp claws with venom glands which are used for defence and to kill or paralyse their prey.
Centipedes have flattened streamlined bodies that allow them to move swiftly through the leaf litter. This allows them to quickly move away from predators.
The last pair of legs on a centipede are slightly larger, often brightly coloured and are used to grasp prey.
How do centipedes reproduce?
Female adult centipedes attract mates by releasing pheromones which can be detected by the male. In some species the male deposits their sperm in a silk covering called a spermatophore. The male either leaves the spermatophore for females to find and take up or they present it to the female through a courtship dance.
Centipedes have two ways of producing young. Some species lay eggs whilst others give birth to live young through a process called ovoviviparity. This involves eggs hatching inside the body of the mother and being laid as live young.
In some species the female leaves her young where they are laid, whilst in others, the female protects her young by curling her body around them.
Some egg-laying centipedes also lick their eggs to prevent fungus and mould from growing on the eggs.
