Centipedes are predatory arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda of the subphylum Myriapoda, an arthropod group which includes millipedes and other multi-legged animals. Centipedes are elongated segmented (metameric) creatures with one pair of legs per body segment. All centipedes are venomous and can inflict painful stings, injecting their venom through pincer-like appendages known as forcipules or toxicognaths, which are actually modified legs instead of fangs. Despite the name, no species of centipede has exactly 100 legs; the number of pairs of legs is an odd number that ranges from 15 pairs to 191 pairs.
Ethmostigmus rubripes, commonly known as the giant centipede, is a species of centipede in the family Scolopendridae. It is a solitary nocturnal predator found across Asia and Oceania, with three subspecies currently described.
Scolopendridae is a family of large centipedes.
Cormocephalus is a genus of centipedes of the family Scolopendridae, containing the following species:
Scolopendra is a species-rich genus of large tropical centipedes of the family Scolopendridae.
Scolopendra morsitans, also known as the Tanzanian blue ringleg or red-headed centipede, is a species of centipede in the family Scolopendridae. S. morsitans is the type species for the genus Scolopendra.
Geophilus hadesi is a species of soil centipede in the family Geophilidae. This centipede is a troglobite, spending its entire life cycle in a cave environment. This species and Geophilus persephones are the only two troglobites known in the order Geophilomorpha. The species G. hadesi is named after Hades, god of the underworld in Greek mythology and the husband of Persephone, the namesake of the first troglobite discovered among the soil centipedes. The species G. hadesi has been observed in a cave as far as 1,100 meters below the surface, the deepest underground that any centipede has ever been recorded.
Aspidopleres is an African genus of centipedes belonging to the family Oryidae. Centipedes in this genus feature sternal pores in four broad groups on each metasternite, very short ultimate legs, and uniarticulate female gonopods. These centipedes range from 11 cm to 12 cm in length, have 87 to 105 pairs of legs, and are found in southwest Africa.
Geophilus is a large, heterogeneous genus of soil centipedes in the family Geophilidae largely considered to be synonymous with Brachygeophilus. The generic name first appeared in Brewster's Edinburgh Encyclopaedia in 1814 as Geophilus electricus. This genus has a Holarctic distribution.
Alipes grandidieri, most commonly known as the feather-tail centipede, is a species of centipede. It is a member of the genus Alipes and the family Scolopendridae. It was first described from Zanzibar, as Eucorybas Grandidieri [sic] by Hippolyte Lucas in 1864.
Ethmostigmus is a genus of centipedes in the family Scolopendridae found in Africa, Asia, and Oceania that is characterised by its large, rounded spiracles.
Scolopendra galapagoensis, also known as the Galápagos centipede and Darwin's goliath centipede, is species of very large centipede in the family Scolopendridae. It is the only representative of the genus Scolopendra on the Galapagos Islands, among twelve other species of centipede present on the Islands. It is also found on mainland South America in Ecuador and Peru, and on Cocos Island in Costa Rica.
Arthrorhabdus, from the Greek ἄρθρον, a joint, and ῥάβδος, a staff, is a genus of Scolopendrid centipede in the subfamily Scolopendrinae. Species are found in Mexico and the Southern United States, Australia (A. paucispinus & A. mjöbergi), and South Africa (A. formosus). Since a reapprasial in the genus in 2010, the genus only has four species. It may be polyphyletic.
Rhysida is a large genus of Scolopendromorph centipedes in the subfamily Otostigminae. It is the second largest genus in the subfamily Otostigminae, with species found in the Neotropics, Indo-Malaya, and Africa. It shares some morphological characteristics with the genus Alluropus, and its phylogeny in the subfamily Otostigminae is somewhat uncertain.
Ultimate legs are a pair of modified rear legs unique to centipedes. Although they do not aid in locomotion, ultimate legs are used for a variety of uses, and their morphology varies accordingly.
Otostigmus is a genus of centipedes in the family Scolopendridae. It was first described by Swedish naturalist Carl Oscar von Porat in 1876. The genus as a whole comprises around 157 species, found primarily in the Neotropics.
Orphnaeus is a genus of centipedes in the family Oryidae. This genus was described by Danish entomologist Frederik Vilhelm August Meinert in 1870. Centipedes in this genus are found in tropical regions.
Scutigerina is a genus of centipedes in the family Scutigerinidae. It was described in 1904 by Italian myriapodologist Filippo Silvestri.
Otostigminae is a large subfamily of centipedes, containing nearly half of all species in the family Scolopendridae. Members of this subfamily are abundant and widespread throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, mostly in Africa, Asia, and Australia.
Scolopendra sumichrasti is a species of arthropod; a scolopendrid centipede found in Latin America.
