''Scolopendra hardwickei'', the Indian tiger centipede, is a species of

centipede Centipedes (from New Latin , "hundred", and Latin , " foot") are predatory arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda (Ancient Greek , ''kheilos'', lip, and New Latin suffix , "foot", describing the forcipules) of the subphylum Myriapoda, an ...

in the family

Scolopendridae Scolopendridae (or, in older documents, Scolopendridæ) is a family of large centipedes (class Chilopoda). Nearly all species in this family have four ocelli ( simple eyes) on each side of the head and only 21 pairs of legs, but there are excepti ...

Description

''Scolopendra hardwickei'' can reach a length of . Antennas consist of 17 or 18 segments, of which the first 6-7 are shiny. It is a pigmented species, with exceptionally bright and contrasting coloration, alternating dark orange and deep black segments, with dark orange legs.Terrarium.com
/ref> The head and antennae or also dark orange, but the first six segments of the antennae are generally of a lighter hue.

Distribution

This species is common in the south of the Indian peninsula and it is rarely found on the islands of Sumatra and Nicobar.GBIF
/ref>

Venom

The bite of ''S. hardwickei'' can cause swelling and drowsiness.

Bibliography

* Attems C. (1930) Myriopoda. 2. Scolopendromorpha, Das Tierreich. De Gruyter, Berlin. 54: 1-308 * ChiloBase: A World Catalogue of Centipedes (Chilopoda) for the web. Minelli A. (ed) * Dr. Graf Attems - Myriopoda. 2. Scolopendromorpha (1930) * G.E. Lewis. 1981. The biology of centipedes, Cambridge University Press * Haase E. (1887) Die Indisch-Australischen Myriopoden. Pt. I. Chilopoden, Abhandlungen und Berichte des Königlichen Zoologischen und. Anthropologisch- Ethnographischen Museums zu Dresden. 5: 1-118 * Humbert A. (1865) Essai sur les myriapodes de Ceylan, Mèmoires de la Société de Physique et d'Histoire Naturelle de Genéve. 18: 1-62 * Koch C.L. (1847) System der Myriapoden. In: Herrich-Schäffer L. (ed.), Kritische Revision der Insectenfauna Deutschlands., Pustet, Regensburg. 3:1-270 * Newport G. (1844) A list of the species of Myriapoda order Chilopoda contained in the cabinets of the British Museum with synoptic descriptions of forty-seven new species, Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 13: 94-101

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6509886 Scolopendridae Arthropods of India Arthropods of Indonesia Animals described in 1844