Centipede ID please

Can anyone ID this scolopendra species? It's for sale in a petshop nearby and they're selling it really cheap. I'm guessing he/she is about 12-15 cm big.

It has three of those little "thorns" (not sure what the correct name is) on it's hind legs and 2 big ones on the ventral part of it's last segment. Don't really know how to else to explain this

Hope this helps!

(Picture taken without flash)



(With flash)



I had to edit because the pictures didn't seem to work. If there are any problems viewing them, let me know!

I hope someone can identify this critter, thanks!

edit 2: Wow the pics seem to be huge, sorry about that

i m no expert, but it looks like a Scolopendra subspinipes dehaani

that's a pretty nice specimen by the way, i like the bright orange legs

Scolopendra subspinipes dehaani. I would buy that in a heartbeat.

Thats 3 for S.S.D.There great pedes.

Hi,

it's difficult to see, but first thing i thought was also S.s. dehaani from Vietnam (judging on outer appearance).

Nevertheless following quote confuses me:

"It has three of those little "thorns" (not sure what the correct name is) on it's hind legs and 2 big ones on the ventral part of it's last segment."

That wouldn't make it dehaani - maybe it's just a misinterpretation of "ventral"?
I can't see the size of spines clearly, but can you make some better pics? I only want to exclude S. spinosissima from Philippines.

Regards,
Turgut

First of all, thanks for all the help!

I did some research yesterday and i also thought this was a S.s. dehaani vietnam but i wasn't sure due to my lack of knowledge when it comes to centipedes.

The coloration of it's legs is really nice. How much would a specimen like this cost? I think i bought it for a really nice price

@peterbourbon:

I'm not too familiar with the scientific names of centipede body parts but i'll give it a go in an attempt to explain what i was saying

On it's hind legs, this species has some "little spines". If i'm not mistaking these are called prefemoral spines and my centipede has 3 of these spines on each leg. I'm not 100% sure though, these little critters are fast which doesn't really help when trying to count the spines. I'll make sure to check it again when he/she is out but i'm about 90% sure that it are 3 spines/leg.

Now, on the ventral part (the underside) of the last segment (i think) you can see what i think are called coxopleural spines. I can see one pair of coxopleural spines. That's what i was referring to in the part of my text that you didn't understand I wasn't sure what spines were important for IDing so i just decided to add them in my description too. I don't even know if all species have 2 or not... I think it was this part that you didn't understand. So what i was trying to refer to are the coxopleural spines, i think.

Do you understand now?


Right now i have this little critter in a pretty big escape proof box with some stuff to hide under and about 9cm of moist humus. Not wet, just a bit moist. He/she also has a watercap to drink from. I'm going to put some more humus in there, i think, i still have plenty left and yesterday night it buried A LOT. It really seems to enjoy making tunnels so i'll give it the opportunity to dig even deeper

Any hints/tips/... except using tweezers when coming near this little monster?

I'll try to borrow a better camera and make some higher quality pictures soon.

Thanks again!

wow, sound like you did an excellent job with setting up for the little guy/gal.

and also a great job on the research and presenting the information.

costwise, this species usually run from $15-$25 max. for a junvie or adult

and less for babies.

Hey,

thanks for the detailed and useful information!:worship:
I wasn't sure what you meant with the "ventral" spines, but now it's clear you meant the coxopleural spines and not spines that are on ventral side of the leg.

These three spines you saw are most probably found in the "inner" side of the legs - and if you say you only see 3 spines on each "inner" leg (and no spines on the underside) then it's Scolopendra subspinipes dehaani from Vietnam.

I remember it was the first centipede i kept - pitily it died after one year.

Regards,
turgut

Hehehe, thanks for the compliments

I bought him (or her) for 10 euros which is about 13 dollars so i guess it was a pretty good deal. They're hard to find over here and pet shops tend to sell stuff way too expensive.

Anyway, they were getting rid of all their inverts for cheap so i couldn't resist

It had no digging opportunities, no moisture, probably no food either, looked very sluggish,... Pet shops don't seem to treat inverts well. Probably would've died in it's miserable enclosure if i hadn't taken it home.

I gave him a grasshopper when i came home and he killed it the moment it touched the ground After which he drank A LOT...

I guess he's much happier in its new home!


It seems that it is a S. s. dehaani 'vietnam' then. Really nice animal to watch! It's hiding in the humus right now but i might see it again tonight.

Thanks for all the help!

Sorry, no key to work with. What do the spines on the underside(not inner leg) indicate? Is this simply the difference between de haani & "standard" subspinipes?

peterbourbon said:

Hey,

thanks for the detailed and useful information!:worship:
I wasn't sure what you meant with the "ventral" spines, but now it's clear you meant the coxopleural spines and not spines that are on ventral side of the leg.

These three spines you saw are most probably found in the "inner" side of the legs - and if you say you only see 3 spines on each "inner" leg (and no spines on the underside) then it's Scolopendra subspinipes dehaani from Vietnam.

I remember it was the first centipede i kept - pitily it died after one year.

Regards,
turgut

Click to expand...

zonbonzovi said:

Sorry, no key to work with. What do the spines on the underside(not inner leg) indicate? Is this simply the difference between de haani & "standard" subspinipes?

Click to expand...

Exactly. It's the main taxonomical difference between dehaani and other subspinipes (besides size, but size doesn't mean a lot...i saw super big mutilans once).

Regards,
Turgut

Thank you, thank you. This has been bothering me for some time. Cheers.

peterbourbon said:

Exactly. It's the main taxonomical difference between dehaani and other subspinipes (besides size, but size doesn't mean a lot...i saw super big mutilans once).

Regards,
Turgut

Click to expand...

Hey Turgut, how large were those big mutilans you saw?

Hey,

i only saw them on pictures with other specimen around (size relation) - and that one was old and must have been approx. 18-19cm long (BL, as far as i remember). I think it was a redleg. I don't have the picture right here, but i was wondering about the size in past.

Nevertheless I think this is not a usual size and somehow unique to a special speciman.

Regards,
Turgut

here is a picture of a big one:
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=156064&highlight=mutilans

let me know if you have seen bigger.

I have a little question for you guys, didn't feel like making a new thread because it's just one small question.

Anyway, how good can scolopendras hear? I play guitar and whenever i have pets in my room i don't play electric or bass because, in general, animals don't like all the noise and vibrations.

I do however play acoustic guitar because that's a completely different thing (i tend to turn up the volume quite hard when using amps which isn't the case when playing acoustic guitar ). So, will it bother the scolopendra if i play some (acoustic) guitar while it's napping inside it's humus?

How good can they hear stuff like that? And will it bother'm?

I am not an expert, but hearing isn't a crucial part of their survival. actually i don't think that they can hear at all.

however, they are sensitive to vibration. it is how they track prey.

Yea i also thought something like that.

So i guess the noise doesn't really matter that much as long as i don't overreact? Of course noise = vibrations but i suppose a small amount probably won't disturb the animal...

@Kyuzo: It's exactly the pic i saw in past! Thanks!

Regards,
Turgut

peterbourbon said:

Hey,

i only saw them on pictures with other specimen around (size relation) - and that one was old and must have been approx. 18-19cm long (BL, as far as i remember). I think it was a redleg. I don't have the picture right here, but i was wondering about the size in past.

Nevertheless I think this is not a usual size and somehow unique to a special speciman.

Regards,
Turgut

Click to expand...

18cm is MASSIVE! It is certainly not an usual size. Most adults I have seen (and I have seen plenty) are only about 4" (10cm) long.

Thanks for the info Turgut.

EDIT: Does anyone agree with my opinion that that centipede is more likely a form of S. subspinipes dehaani instead of S. subspinipes mutilans? Take a closer look at coloration as well as locality.

EDIT: More specifically, look at the membrane between the tergites and sternites of that "giant mutilans" and compare the coloration to that of the usual S. subspinipes mutilans. Also - Yunnan - is that not where Mr Todd Gearheart is getting his "Chinese Giant" dehaani? Maybe this so-called "giant mutilans" is simply a colorform of S. subspinipes dehaani, hence the awkward locale when compared to the usual distribution of S. subspinipes mutilans (northeast China, Korea, Japan)?

http://www.hwjbbs.com/UploadFile/2009-6/20096720413255656.jpg