''Scolopendra japonica'', formerly classified as ''

Scolopendra subspinipes ''Scolopendra subspinipes'' is a species of very large centipede found throughout eastern Asia. One of the most widespread and common species in the genus ''Scolopendra'', it is also found on virtually all land areas around and within the Indian ...

japonica'', is a species of scolopendrid centipede mostly found in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, although specimens have been reported in other parts of Eastern Asia such as China, Taiwan, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos. They usually grow between 7.5 and 13 centimetres in length. It is known by the common names Japanese giant centipede and blue-head centipede.

Habitat and behaviour

''S. japonica'' prefers shaded woods and greenspaces, both flat and mountainous. Like most centipedes, it is nocturnal. ''S. japonica'' preys mostly on insects and arachnids including

cockroach Cockroaches (or roaches) are a paraphyletic group of insects belonging to Blattodea, containing all members of the group except termites. About 30 cockroach species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats. Some species are well-known as ...

es,

spider Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

s, and

crickets Crickets are orthopteran insects which are related to bush crickets, and, more distantly, to grasshoppers. In older literature, such as Imms,Imms AD, rev. Richards OW & Davies RG (1970) ''A General Textbook of Entomology'' 9th Ed. Methuen 8 ...

. During the day, the hide under leaf litter, rocks, or fallen logs, but sometimes rest on the tips of tree branches. They can be found in residential areas, and can sometimes even enter the home. Scolopendra subspinipes japonica

Taxonomy

''S. japonica'' was first described by Koch in 1878. In 1903, Kraeplin reclassified it as a subspecies of ''Scolopendra subspinipes''. In 2003, it was suggested by Jui-Lung Chao and Hsueh-Wen Chang that it could be a subspecies or geographic variation of ''

Scolopendra multidens ''Scolopendra'' (through Latin from Greek , ''skolopendra'') is a species-rich genus of large tropical centipedes of the family Scolopendridae. Description The genus ''Scolopendra'' contains many species of centipedes found across the world' ...

''. In 2012, it was elevated back to species level by Christian Kronmüller.

Morphology

Two colour morphs have been reported in ''S. japonica'', although the only significant variation is in leg colour, which ranges from yellow-brown to red with almost greenish tips. The body is usually dark greenish to brown, and the fangs are tipped with black. The head and first

tergite A ''tergum'' (Latin for "the back"; plural ''terga'', associated adjective tergal) is the dorsal ('upper') portion of an arthropod segment other than the head. The anterior edge is called the 'base' and posterior edge is called the 'apex' or 'mar ...

are dark reddish-green.

References

External links

A Three-Dimensional representation of S. japonica

iNaturalist

GBIF

Encyclopedia of Life
{{Taxonbar, from=Q113331701 japonica Animals described in 1878 Arthropods of Japan