Centipede from Maldives

bugman

November 16th, 2010 at 7:07 am

Categories

Millipede from Maldives
Location: Maldives (Lhaviyani Atoll)
November 15, 2010 1:37 pm
Hello bugman,
This millipede was on the wall of my room on Maldivian island last summer.
We moved it out of the room (the reddish color frightened us).
It was about three inches long.
Can you help me?
Thanks
Signature: Saverio

Centipede

Dear Saverio,
This is a Centipede and not a Millipede. Centipedes have one pair of legs per body segment and millipedes have two pairs of legs per body segment. Of the four orders of Centipedes represented on BugGuide, this looks the most like the Soil Centipedes, but we do not believe this is a Soil Centipede because the antennae look different and BugGuide indicates: “Slender eyeless centipedes that have 31 to 177 pairs of legs and antennae with 14 segments. The number of pairs of legs is always odd.“ Perhaps one of our readers will be able to provide some additional information on your Centipede’s identity, otherwise you will have to be content with a general identification to the class Chilopoda.

Comments 2

superbutterfly12 wrote:
While I have no idea what that it I would sure like to know. A slightly longer one was in my living room this morning in Sacramento, CA. We killed it because I thought the red color might mean it was poisonous and my stupid kitten thought it was a toy…If it’s from the Maldives, what’s it doing in my house?
Posted 17 Nov 2010 at 1:53 am ¶
bugman wrote:
Hi superbutterfly12,
We have many other Centipedes pictured in our archives. Without a photo, it would be impossible to accurately determine what type of Centipede you saw, however the deceptively named Tropical Centipedes in the order Scolopendromorpha (see BugGuide) include many red species including the individuals in the family Scolopocryptopidae (see BugGuide) that are found in California.
Posted 17 Nov 2010 at 2:47 am ¶