Scolopendra dehaani

Last updated

Giant Vietnamese centipede
Scolopendra dehaani Vietnam betonamuoomukade M ieroretsugu AD W.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Myriapoda
Class: Chilopoda
Order: Scolopendromorpha
Family: Scolopendridae
Genus: Scolopendra
Species:
S. dehaani
Binomial name
Scolopendra dehaani
Brandt, 1840
Scolopendra dehaani and subspinipes range.jpg
Synonyms
List
  • Scolopendra subspinipes dehaani (Attems, 1930) [1]
  • Scolopendra arborea (Lewis, 1982), (Subjective, Siriwut W, Edgecombe GD,et al.(2016)
  • Scolopendra childreni Newport, 1844
  • Scolopendra concolor Newport, 1845
  • Scolopendra inermis Newport, 1845
  • Scolopendra inermipes Koch, 1847
  • Scolopendra silhetensis Newport, 1845
  • Scolopendra lucasii Gervais, 1847
  • Scolopendra horrida Koch, 1847
  • Scolopendra limicolor Wood, 1861
  • Scolopendra bispinipes Wood, 1862
  • Scolopendra fissispina Koch, 1865
  • Scolopendra nudipes Tömösváry, 1885
  • Scolopendra foveolata Verhoeff, 1937

Scolopendra dehaani, the giant Vietnamese centipede, is a large scolopendrid centipede found across Mainland Southeast Asia. [2] [3] It is also found in India, Japan, Hong Kong, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. [1]

Contents

Taxonomy

Scolopendra dehaani was originally named by Brandt in 1840, but was reclassified by Carl Attems in 1930 as a subspecies of Scolopendra subspinipes . A 2012 paper reclassified it as a separate species. [1]

Morphology

Scolopendra dehaani is one of the largest centipedes in the genus Scolopendra , and some specimens have been found to reach or exceed 25 cm in length. [2] [4] It usually lives for five to six years. [5] Specimens usually have brownish-orange tergites (the hard plates on the tops of the segments) and yellow . In a 2016 paper, the authors suggested S. dehaani has five distinct colour morphs: four were dichromatic, one other was monochromatic, and all were generally reddish, brown, or orange in coloration:

# Head Segments Tergites Antennae Legs Pleurites
1Dark brownDark brownBack border with dark bandReddish-brownChestnut brownBrownish
2"Brown or yellowish orange""Brown or yellowish orange"Back border with dark bandYellowish orangeDark BrownPale Grey
3Reddish-brownReddish-brown-Reddish-brownYellowish, except 20th and ultimate legs, which are reddish-brown.Brownish
4Bright redBack border with dark bandYellow or bright orangeYellowish, except 20th and ultimate legs, which are reddish.Orange
5Cherry redCherry redBack border with dark bandReddish or orangeReddishOrange

[4]

Diet

Scolopendra dehaani usually preys on smaller arthropods such as insects, spiders, and vinegaroons, but they have been found eating small snakes and other vertebrates, including, in one observation, a tree frog. [6] [5] [2] [7]

One paper suggested that S. dehaani forages arboreally, and it has even been recorded doing so in daytime. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Centipede</span> Many-legged arthropods with elongated bodies

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 centipede has exactly 100 legs; the number of pairs of legs is an odd number that ranges from 15 pairs to 191 pairs.

<i>Scolopendra gigantea</i> Species of Chilopoda (centipede)

Scolopendra gigantea, also known as the Peruvian giant yellow-leg centipede or Amazonian giant centipede, is a centipede in the genus Scolopendra. It is the largest centipede species in the world, with a length exceeding 30 centimetres (12 in). Specimens may have 21 or 23 segments. It is found in various places throughout South America and the extreme south Caribbean, where it preys on a wide variety of animals, including other sizable arthropods, amphibians, mammals and reptiles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinese red-headed centipede</span> Subspecies of centipede

The Chinese red-headed centipede, also known as the Chinese red head, is a centipede from East Asia. It averages 20 cm (8 in) in length and lives in damp environments.

<i>Scolopendra subspinipes</i> Species of centipede

Scolopendra subspinipes is a species of very large centipede found throughout southeastern Asia. One of the most widespread and common species in the genus Scolopendra, it is also found on virtually all land areas around and within the Indian Ocean, all of tropical and subtropical Asia from Russia to the islands of Malaysia and Indonesia, Australia, South and Central America, the Caribbean islands, and possibly parts of the southern United States, but how much of this range is natural and how much due to human introduction is unclear. With a wide geographic range and numerous color variations, the species is known by many common names, including jungle centipede, orange-legged centipede, Hawaiian centipede, and Vietnamese centipede.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scolopendridae</span> Family of centipedes

Scolopendridae is a family of large centipedes.

<i>Scolopendra</i> Genus of centipedes

Scolopendra is a species-rich genus of large tropical centipedes of the family Scolopendridae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scolopendromorpha</span> Order of centipedes

Scolopendromorpha is an order of centipedes also known as tropical centipedes or bark centipedes. This order includes about 700 species in five families. These centipedes are found nearly worldwide, with tropical and subtropical regions providing the richest diversity in species. This order includes the only known amphibious centipedes, Scolopendra cataracta, Scolopendra paradoxa, and Scolopendra alcyona.

<i>Scolopendra morsitans</i> Species of centipede

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.

<i>Scolopendra cataracta</i> Species of centipede

Scolopendra cataracta is a species of centipede in the family Scolopendridae. It is the first known amphibious centipede, growing to up to 20 centimetres (7.9 in) in length.

<i>Scolopendra calcarata</i> Species of centipede

Scolopendra calcarata is a species of centipede in the family Scolopendridae discovered in 1876.

<i>Hemiscolopendra</i> Genus of centipedes

Hemiscolopendra is a genus of bark centipedes in the family Scolopendridae. There are about six described species in Hemiscolopendra, found in North, Central, and South America.

Geophilus electricus is a species of soil centipede in the family Geophilidae found across temperate Europe, especially Britain and Ireland. Originally discovered and named Scolopendra electrica in 1758, it was later moved to its own genus, Geophilus. As the first species described in this genus, it is considered by some to be the type species. It is yellowish-orange in color and can grow up to 45 millimeters, with 55 to 75 leg pairs, a distinct carpophagus fossae on the anterior sternites, and a distinctive arrangement of the coxal pores of the last leg pair. Like many geophilomorphans, G. electricus has been known to glow in the dark, most likely as a defensive maneuver.

<i>Scolopendra japonica</i> Centipede species

Scolopendra japonica, formerly classified as Scolopendra subspinipes japonica, is a species of scolopendrid centipede mostly found in Japan, although specimens have been reported in other parts of Eastern Asia such as China, Taiwan, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos. They usually grow between 7.5 and 13 centimetres in length. It is known by the common names Japanese giant centipede and blue-head centipede.

<i>Scolopendra dawydoffi</i> Species of centipede

Scolopendra dawydoffi is a species of large Scolopendrid centipede found in Southeast Asia, specifically in Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia. It has bright reddish-orange and black colouration, and can grow up to and beyond 16 cm in length.

<i>Scolopendra galapagoensis</i> Centipede species

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.

<i>Asanada agharkari</i> Centipede species

Asanada agharkari is a species of small Scolopendrid centipede in the subfamily Scolopendrinae.

<i>Scolopendra pinguis</i> Species of centipede

Scolopendra pinguis is a species of centipede in the subfamily Scolopendrinae that is endemic to Southeast Asia.

<i>Scolopendra alcyona</i> Species of centipede

Scolopendra alcyona, the Halcyon giant centipede, is a species of amphibious centipede found in the Ryukyu Archipelago of Japan and Taiwan. It is the third amphibious member of the genus Scolopendra discovered so far, and the largest species of centipede in Japan, as well as the first new centipede species discovered in Japan for 143 years.

Arthrorhabdus paucispinus is a species of centipede in the family Scolopendridae. Endemic to Australia, it was first described in 1984 by Australian myriapodologist L. E. Koch. It is a medium-sized species, up to 64 millimetres long, with a reddish-brown head and pale brown body segments. It has 14 to 18 segments on its antennae, large teeth on the feeding mouthparts, and its last pair of legs feature short bristles and a small projection.

<i>Scolopendra sumichrasti</i> Species of centipede

Scolopendra sumichrasti is a species of arthropod; a scolopendrid centipede found in Latin America.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Review of the subspecies of Scolopendra subspinipes Leach, 1815 with the new description of the South Chinese member of the genus Scolopendra Linnaeus, 1758 named Scolopendra hainanum spec. nov. (Myriapoda, Chilopoda, Scolopendridae) by Christian Kronmüller
  2. 1 2 3 Nariman Vazifdar, Patrick W. Aust, Mervyn D’Costa, A Centipede (Scolopendra dehaani) Feeding on a Juvenile Andaman Wolfsnake (Lycodon hypsirhinoides) on Havelock Island, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India
  3. "ITIS - Report: Scolopendra dehaani". www.itis.gov. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
  4. 1 2 Siriwut, Warut; Edgecombe, Gregory; Sutcharit, Chirasak; Tongkerd, Piyoros; Panha, Somsak (2016-05-17). "A taxonomic review of the centipede genus Scolopendra Linnaeus, 1758 (Scolopendromorpha, Scolopendridae) in mainland Southeast Asia, with description of a new species from Laos". ZooKeys (590): 1–124. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.590.7950 . ISSN   1313-2970. PMC   4926625 . PMID   27408540.
  5. 1 2 "Vietnam Giant Red Legs Centipede (Scolopendra dehaani)". www.myhomenature.com. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
  6. Hodges, Cameron, and Goodyear, Jesse (January 2021). "a) A dark colored S. dehaani was found as it was feeding on a freshly killed Polypedates". ResearchGate.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. 1 2 Novel foraging behaviors of Scolopendra dehaani (Chilopoda: Scolopendridae) in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, Hodges, Cameron and Goodyear, Jesse, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/348890454_Novel_foraging_behaviors_of_Scolopendra_dehaani_Chilopoda_Scolopendridae_in_Nakhon_Ratchasima_Thailand