Centipedes (Class Chilopoda) are fast-moving venomous, predatory, terrestrial arthropods that have long bodies and many jointed legs. Chiefly nocturnal, centipedes are found primarily in tropical climates but are also widely distributed in temperate zones.
Some species are highly venomous and often produce very painful bites but only one human death has ever been recorded - from a bite on the head of a young child by a large centipede on a Pacific island[1] - though severe reactions have also occasionally been recorded in adults.
Like the millipedes, centipedes are highly segmented (15 to 173 segments), but with only one pair of walking legs per segment. Centipedes are dorso-ventrally flattened, and are among the fastest and most agile of non-flying arthropod predators.
The head of a centipede has a pair of antennae, jaw-like mandibles, and other mouthparts. The most anterior trunk segment of a centipede has a pair of venomous claws (called maxillipedes) that are used for both defense and for capturing and paralyzing prey. Despite their name, which stems from the Latin words centum (meaning 'hundred') and pes, pedis (meaning 'foot'), they normally have around half that number of legs, though it is possible to find centipedes with over 200 legs.
The house centipede (Scutigera coleoptrata) is a fast-moving carnivore that feeds on insects such as cockroaches, house flies, and other small house pests, and is thus domestically beneficial in nature. Though generally harmless to humans, its alarming appearance and painful bite result in its extermination from residences. The bite of a smaller centipede in temperate areas may be similar to a bee sting, but the bite of a larger tropical species is excruciatingly painful, leaving two black puncture wounds about a centimeter apart.
Centipedes, which are members of the class Chilopoda, always have an uneven number of pairs of walking legs, ranging from 15 to more than 171. The true centipedes (order Scolopendromorpha) have either 21 or 23 pairs of legs. Common house centipedes (Scutigera coleoptrato) have 15 pairs of legs
2007-09-01 11:37:24
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answer #1
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answered by Mister 4
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Centipedes, which are members of the class Chilopoda, always have an uneven number of pairs of walking legs, ranging from 15 to more than 171. The true centipedes (order Scolopendromorpha) have either 21 or 23 pairs of legs. Common house centipedes (Scutigera coleoptrato) have 15 pairs of legs
2007-09-01 11:11:53
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answer #2
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answered by junglyjelly 2
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Centipedes, which are members of the class Chilopoda, always have an uneven number of pairs of walking legs, ranging from 15 to more than 171. The true centipedes (order Scolopendromorpha) have either 21 or 23 pairs of legs. Common house centipedes (Scutigera coleoptrato) have 15 pairs of legs.
"doh, she beat me"
2007-09-01 11:12:28
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answer #3
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answered by THE GOOD NIGHT 6
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