''Ethmostigmus rubripes'', the giant centipede, is the largest

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n centipede. Its size tends to vary in accordance with locality, with the head and body length ranging from 7.5 to over , with some individuals exceeding 20 cm. Coloration and patterning varies enormously between specimens from different locations, with shades of yellow and orange being perhaps the most common. Forms from arid climates are often a pale yellow in colour, while those from rainforest habitats typically exhibit dark green or blue coloration. Body proportion also varies with habitat; arid forms are typically very heavily built with proportionally short legs, while their tropical counterparts tend to have longer legs and a lighter build. ''Ethmostigmus rubripes'' also has three subspecies, with substantial variation within each.

Habitat and range

It is found in both dry and moist habitats, ranging from tropical rainforest to desert, usually in sheltered places such as under logs, leaf litter and bark, and beneath rocks. It is a solitary,

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on or near the ground, as opposed to ...

and

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

. It is widely distributed in

, where it exhibits the greatest variation, but is also found in the

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, and parts of

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Diet

''E. rubripes'' is a voracious eater. Insects, snails, worms and even

Arachnids Arachnida () is a Class (biology), class of joint-legged invertebrate animals (arthropods), in the subphylum Chelicerata. Arachnida includes, among others, spiders, scorpions, ticks, mites, pseudoscorpions, opiliones, harvestmen, Solifugae, came ...

are fair game for most individuals. Larger specimens are more than capable of subduing small

vertebrate Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () ( chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, ...

s, which are overpowered by a combination of brute strength and the centipede's powerful venom. They have also been observed scavenging on

roadkill Roadkill is an animal or animals that have been struck and killed by drivers of motor vehicles on highways. Wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVC) have increasingly been the topic of academic research to understand the causes, and how it can be mi ...

Reproduction

The eggs are laid in clusters of roughly thirty, though sometimes fewer than ten or greater than forty, and the mother guards the eggs and hatchlings until after their second moult. The eggs usually take well over a month to develop, and the babies remain with the mother for a few weeks after that.

Venom

The giant centipede has modified legs called

forcipules Forcipules are the modified, pincer-like, front legs of centipedes that are used to inject venom into prey. They are the only known examples of front legs acting as venom injectors. Nomenclature Forcipules go by a variety of names in both scien ...

attached to the first body segment, which curve around its head and can deliver

venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

into its prey. The venom is toxic to both

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

s and

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

s, but does not appear to be strong enough to kill large animals quickly. It can cause severe pain in humans which can last for several days but which can be relieved somewhat by the application of icepacks. Some people report "intense pain", while others claim it is no worse than a wasp sting. There has been at least one reported death from the related centipede species ''

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 ...

'' in which a young girl was bitten and died.

Footnotes

References

* ''Wildlife of Tropical North Queensland''. 2000. Queensland Museum. * Ménez, André et al. "Venom apparatus and toxicity of the centipede ''Ethmostigmus rubripes'' (Chilopoda, Scolopendridae)." ''Journal of Morphology''. 2005. Vol. 206, Issue 3, pp. 303–312. * ''Cooktown Local News'', Issue 307, March 28, 2007, pp. 1 and 11. * "Is this the nation's biggest centipede?" ''The Cairns Post''. March 30, 2007, pp. 1 and 3.

External links

Australian Museum online

Australian Faunal Directory
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ethmostigmus Rubripes Scolopendridae Arthropods of Australia Arthropods of China Fauna of Southeast Asia Animals described in 1840