In different corners of our planet you can meet a formidable-looking and dangerous creature. Scolopendras adapted to live in different climatic zones, and sometimes they settle very close: in residential buildings and apartments. Scientists estimate that there are approximately 600 species of various scolopendra on Earth, many of which can be harmful to health.
1
Name
Posted by: Eran Finkle / wikipedia.org
The scientific name came to us from the ancient Greek language. Scolopendra literally means millipede, wood lice, and consists of two words “worm” and “stockade”.
In Russian, it is often used in the sense of a creeping poisonous creature. In the legends and myths of the peoples of the world, an arthropod animal is associated with danger.
Do not miss the fascinating article on our site most-beauty.ru about the most beautiful and unusual worms on Earth.
2
What do scolopendras look like?
The appearance of scolopendra resembles long worms. Color depends on the habitat. Usually brownish-golden in color, but black with colored spots throughout the body.
The head is flat with two faceted eyes. The organs of vision are well developed, and allow her to easily navigate in space. There are two antennae on the head. The first pair of legs during evolution turned into the maxilla, which contain poisonous glands.
The body consists of segments held together by movable membranes. Each body segment has its own pair of legs. The tips of each limb also have poisonous glands. Crawling through the body, she leaves a burning trail. The whole body and head of the animal is covered with an exoskeleton.
3
Habitat
Like most millipedes, Scolopendra loves to settle in heat-loving countries with a hot tropical climate. Large populations have chosen the tropical forests of Latin and Central America.
In equatorial Africa, you can find large specimens. In southern Europe, smaller scolopendras. There are species that settled in the Crimea, the steppe zones of Russia, Ukraine, in the countries of Central Asia.
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Lifestyle
Posted by: Eran Finkle / wikipedia.org
Like most predators in wildlife, they prefer to live separately. Large families are not about them. It is quite difficult to meet her during the day, as it is a night hunter.
They differ in aggressive nervous disposition, but attack only for self-defense. They see poorly, and therefore behave very carefully. Pretty gluttonous and constantly chewing something. Madagascar or Thai varieties easily cope with bats. Three hours easily digest lunch, as they have a primitive digestive system.
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Bites and consequences
Scolopendra head close up.
Lepodoptera centipedes are a bright representative of nocturnal predators. The poison is used during hunting to immobilize the victim. She does not attack a person, but bites only as self-defense.
At the bite site, two small red dots can be observed. If bitten by a large adult, inflammation can begin. But the bite is pretty painful. After a bite, the wound must be treated with an alcohol solution. And then apply a sterile dressing so that no dirt gets into the wound.
Sometimes the scolopendra does not bite, but creeps through the body, leaves a mark. The poison is found not only in the front jaws, but also on the tips of all limbs.
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Kinds
The time has come to submit photos describing some types of dangerous arthropods.
Australian
No machine-readable author provided. John Hill assumed (based on copyright claims). [CC BY-SA]
In Australia, you can find scolopendra of different colors. There are red, yellow, purple. Some grow up to 30 cm in length and contain dangerous poison in the glands.
They prefer to hide under stones, in crevices, under fallen leaves. From shelters attack their victims. In the rainy season they can move to a person’s home.
The bite of such arthropods causes a strong tumor, the temperature rises sharply.
By the way, on our site most-beauty.ru there is an interesting article about the most poisonous and dangerous insects in Australia.
Giant scolopendra
A huge millipede can be seen in the forests of South America, Jamaica and the island of Trinidad. It is rampant, but for a person, the bite of such a scolopendra is non-lethal.
The body consists of 20–23 segments. The color is usually light red or completely brown. They grab the victim with their front jaws, releasing poison.
In history, there are cases when such huge arthropods easily coped with birds, lizards, small snakes. The diet also contains rodents, toads.
Asian Scolopendra
Photo by m-louis / flickr.com
Scolopendra subspinipes has spread from the stony regions of the Green Continent to the Primorsky Territory of Russia. They grow in length up to 20 cm.
Scientists have not yet figured out where the historical homeland of the species is, but it is found in vast territories of Asia. Perhaps on ships hit the Caribbean.
She has a pretty menacing look. Color depends on the habitat. Almost black individuals and bright red ones are found. The poison is quite toxic. The only fatal case was recorded when a small child died from a bite of this species.
Ringed scolopendra
Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE [CC BY-SA]
The most common European scolopendra is found in Crimea, on the Black Sea coast of Russia, in the region of Novorossiysk, Anapa.
In Spain, France it is called Mediterranean. This species settled in Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco. It has a yellowish color, and reaches a length of 12 to 15 cm. Small in size, it runs fast and has a rather aggressive character.
The poison is non-toxic, but it is better to immediately treat the bite site so that inflammation does not begin. Creeping through the body, leaves a reddish sore mark.
Chinese ginger scolopendra
神 (代理) [CC0]
This threatening creature lives on the territory of Southeast Asia. They grow up to 17 cm in length, but larger individuals also caught.
They differ in a non-aggressive disposition towards relatives, and therefore live in small groups. To hunt at night, crawling out of shelters. The female lays eggs after mating. It turns around them and in this position until the cubs hatch from the eggs.
Millipede is widely used in Chinese traditional medicine. It is believed that it cures skin diseases. The poison is used in the manufacture of drugs.
California Scolopendra
Posted by: John / flickr.com
In the arid regions of the southern United States and Mexico, you can find a large scolopendra with a bright orange color. It grows up to 20 cm in length.
It hides among stones, tears holes in the ground, in which it equips a nest where females lay their eggs. The American resident eats various insects, small lizards.
The poison is not very toxic, but the bite can cause inflammation, a slight swelling. In children, fever may rise.
Scolopendra Lucas
This reddish millipede lives in the countries of Southern Europe. The tail and head are dark. It is easy to recognize her by the shape of the head. They have a heart-shaped shape.
They grow no more than 12 cm in length. The color makes it easy to hide on sandy and rocky soil, so you need to be careful not to accidentally step on.
People are not afraid. It can creep into houses, tents, farm buildings.
He was first described and introduced into the scientific classification by the French scientist Paul Gervais in 1847.
Homemade scolopendra
gailhampshire from Cradley, Malvern, U.K [CC BY]
The smallest and most harmless of the genus of true scolopendras grows from 3 to 6 cm. The jaws are weak, because of which it can not bite through human skin.
It settles in a person’s dwelling, and hunts for flies, mosquitoes, ants. Because of this, they are also called Flycatcher. She adapted to live at low temperatures. For people completely harmless.
It can go hunting both at night and during the day. But in the afternoon he prefers not to catch the eye of a person.
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Interesting Facts
To conclude our story at most-beauty, let us recall some interesting facts about the Skolopendrov detachment.
- Prehistoric millipedes, which are the direct ancestors of modern species, reached a length of 2 meters. Such huge arthropleura had 30 pairs of legs.
- The toxicity of the poison depends on the species, as well as the age of the individual.
- Among arthropods, scolopendras are considered centenarians. Live an average of 2-3 years. They grow throughout life.
- In female scolopendras, scientists note maternal instinct. They carefully guard the egg laying until the offspring hatch. In addition, many species reproduce parthenogenetically, without the participation of males. Crimean scolopendra belongs to such species.
- People often call them centipedes. Their anatomy is simple. The body of the scolopendra consists of segments. The number of segments depends on the variety - from 15 to 171.
- In literature, scolopendras are often referred to as world evil, but this is not entirely true.
- These are poisonous predators, but for a person a bite does not pose a great danger. More frightening is the appearance of the scolopendra.
- Until 2016, these centipedes were considered a purely land creature, but scientists discovered the first aquatic species, called Scolopendra cataracta.
Summary
So we found out about these amazing arthropods that look like huge worms with legs. There are people who apply scolopendra in the form of a tattoo on the body. And the interpretation is quite simple - such tattoos are applied by people with a rebellious character, going against the generally accepted standards. The editors of most-beauty.ru asks you to write in the comments about your attitude to these animals. Which scolopendras evoke a lot of emotions in you and have you met them in your life?