Scolopendra heros

''Scolopendra heros'', commonly known as the giant desert centipede, giant Sonoran centipede, Texas redheaded centipede, and giant redheaded centipede, is a species of North American centipede found in the Southwestern United States and Northern Mexico.

Description

''S. heros'' is the largest centipede in North America. It has an average length of , but can reach up to in the wild, and even longer in captivity. Its trunk bears either 21 or 23 pairs of legs.

It is aposematically colored, to warn off potential predators, and a number of color variants are known in the species. The ''castaneiceps'' variant found in Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, and other nearby areas is commonly known as the "giant redheaded centipede" or "Texas redheaded centipede" because of its distinct red head and greenish black body and tail.

Distribution and ecology

''S. heros'' is found in northern Mexico and the southwestern United States, from New Mexico and Arizona in the west to Arkansas, Missouri, and Louisiana in the east. Although this species is commonly referred to as the "giant desert centipede" because of its presence in the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts, and other arid and semi-arid habitats, ''S. heros'' is also found in rocky woodland areas, such as in Arkansas. It remains underground on warm days, emerging in cloudy weather.

Hunting and diet

''S. heros'' is primarily a nocturnal predator and hunts invertebrates and small vertebrates, including rodents, reptiles, and amphibians. It is capable of reaching into the air to grab small flying insects. The centipede uses its venom to subdue prey.

Life cycle

''S. heros'' hatch from eggs. As they grow and mature, like all arthropods they shed and molt away their exoskeleton. Each time they molt they enter a new stage of its life cycle called an instar. Like all Scolopendromorph centipedes, the number of segments they possess remains the same throughout their life. ''S. heros'' is a slow-growing species capable of living over a decade.

Venom

The venom of ''S. heros'' is similar in composition to the venom of other ''Scolopendra'' species, including components such as serotonin, histamine, lipids, proteins (including cardiotoxic proteins and enzymes such as hemolytic phospholipase A), and other substances. The mixture is known to act as a cytolysin, compromising cellular membranes and rupturing cells. ''S. heros'' venom also contains toxins targeted to its prey: one toxin numbs the nervous system of insects, rendering them unable to sense or escape, while another toxin interferes with the autonomic nervous system of vertebrates to make small vertebrates easier to subdue and devour. The exact effects and makeup of the venom have not been thoroughly evaluated, in part because it is difficult to extract in significant quantities and quickly deteriorates when processed.

''S. heros'' bites are very painful to vertebrates. A rat bitten by ''S. heros'' in the leg showed signs of excruciating pain, followed by soreness, but returned to normal after five hours. For humans, a bite from ''S. heros'' usually causes sharp, searing, local pain and swelling, but has never caused any confirmed deaths. ''S. heros'' bites are known to occasionally cause nausea, headache, and localized skin necrosis. However, there are individual cases of severe symptoms and injury (including kidney failure due to rhabdomyolysis, and heart attack) in humans resulting from ''Scolopendra'' bites.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2637538

Scolopendridae
Arthropods of Mexico
Arthropods of the United States
Fauna of the Southwestern United States
Fauna of the Chihuahuan Desert
Fauna of the Sonoran Desert
Animals described in 1853
Taxa named by Charles Frédéric Girard