Comments on: Centipede in her panties is Desert Tiger Centipede

By: Shrimpman75

Shrimpman75 — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 04:23:04 +0000

Great Bugman! don’t blow out any braincells through your contemplative effort.

By: bugman

bugman — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 06:58:42 +0000

Thanks for the thought provoking comment. We will think about this for a bit.

By: Shrimpman75

Shrimpman75 — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 03:23:01 +0000

“If plantkid is right, why is the species called “polymorpha”? That translates to “many shapes,” doesn’t it? All of the specimens I have seen have differed only in size”.

I know this post is old…
its called polymorpha because of the many colors it can be found in. All centipedes will have a similar form, A key trait uniting this group is a pair of venom claws or “forcipules” formed from a modified first appendage

By: mtsanch

mtsanch — Sun, 23 May 2010 18:12:14 +0000

I grew up in New Mexico and have seen dozens of these centipedes. This one is one of the smallest I have seen. Six to eight inches seems to be the average, at least in the Middle Rio Grande Valley (I would see these near the irrigation ditches south of Albuquerque, and several times in the house).

I have never been bitten, but those I know who have seem to have PTSD from it!

I don’t know anything about bugs, but all the centipedes I have seen have the same appearance as this one, and none ever looked like the pictures of Redheaded Centipedes posted on this site. If plantkid is right, why is the species called “polymorpha”? That translates to “many shapes,” doesn’t it? All of the specimens I have seen have differed only in size.

By: plantkid

plantkid — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 01:22:48 +0000

Thats actually not Scolopendra heros they are far larger and do not occur in NM. That is Scolopendra polymorpha sometimes referred to as the desert tiger centipede.