Centipedes
 
Physical Description
Centipedes have a flattened, segmented body, long antennae, and many legs (each leg is slightly longer than the one in front of it). Centipedes have from 15 to about 177 segments (but most have about 15). Each body segment has a pair of legs that stick out from the sides. A member of the genus Geophilus has 177 pairs of legs. When a leg is cut off it will regenerate. The body is divided into two parts, the head and a segmented trunk. They breathe through spiracles, holes positioned along the body.
Enemies
Birds, toads, and shrews eat centipedes, as do some people.
Habitat
Catfish will inhabit all bodies of fresh water -- streams, rivers, ponds, lakes, and reservoirs – and will thrive in nearly any type of water that provides adequate food, spawning and temperature. They will usually seek areas with clean bottoms of sand, rubble or gravel. This leads them to congregate in warm, quiet areas away from strong currents. In these areas, they will be found near dark holes and deep pools, lakeshores, undercut banks, rock ledges, weedy areas, log jams, and beaver dams or muskrat burrows.
Reproduction
The average female centipede lays 60 sticky eggs (which are fertilized internally). She drops the eggs into a hole she digs in the soil. Some centipedes care for their eggs and the hatchlings.
Diet
Centipedes are carnivores (meat-eaters) that use venom to kill their prey. The venom comes from glands that open near the first pair of modified legs (which act as poisonous fangs). Their bite can be painful to a human but not lethal. Centipedes eat insects, earthworms, spiders, slugs, and other small animals. The largest centipede, Scolopendra gigas (from Trinidad in the West Indies), also eats mice and some small lizards. Scolopendra gigas grows to be about 10 inches (25 cm) long and 1 inch wide.
|
