How many legs do centipedes have?

How many legs do centipedes have? 32 photos

Many people get scared when they see centipedes.
Some of them are dangerous, and some are completely harmless creatures. Today we will tell you interesting facts about the life of centipedes. Millipedes (lat. Myriapoda) are a superclass of invertebrate animals, uniting four classes of terrestrial arthropods (symphylos, labiopods, biparopods and pauropods, the latter are usually combined into one group).

Arthropleura is the ancestor of centipedes. Reached a length of more than 2.5 meters. These are the largest invertebrate animals ever found.

They lived throughout North America and Scotland about 300 million years ago.

Harmless centipedes. Symphyla (lat. Symphyla) is a class of small arthropods, up to 8 mm long, from the superclass of centipedes.

Linotaeniidae (lat.) - family of labiopods. About 7 genera and 50 species.

Ballophilidae (lat.) - a family of labiopods from the order Geophila.

Kivsyaki (lat. Julida) is a detachment of two-legged centipedes. A widespread group of terrestrial invertebrates that live on the forest floor, including in temperate latitudes.

Blue forest centipede Drupe.

Although it has poisonous mites, they are too weak to bite through human skin.

Flycatcher (Scutigera coleoptrata). This beast will destroy all your flies, cockroaches and woodlice if it suddenly appears. A very useful “animal”, very fast and completely harmless.

Poisonous centipedes. Scolopendra (lat. Scolopendra) is a genus of labiopods from the order Scolopendromorpha.

Giant centipedes live in South America and Jamaica. There are known cases of giant scolopendra attacking birds, lizards, mice and toads.

Centipede venom contains acetylcholine, serotonin, lecithin, histamine, thermolysins, and hyaluronidase.

In humans, their bites cause local swelling and pain, usually lasting 1-2 hours.

Scientists have counted 8,000 species of different scolopendras living in different parts of the planet.

If the scolopendra is large, these phenomena may last for several days, possibly increased temperature, fever, and weakness.

In some cases, a scolopendra bite is fatal to humans. By the way, females are more poisonous than males.

Depending on the species, these arthropods can have from 15 to 171 body segments and the same number of pairs of legs.

Interestingly, centipedes always have an odd number of pairs of legs, so the word centipede cannot be used in it.

True, in 1999, the only specimen so far known to science was discovered, which was found to have an even number of pairs of legs - 48. The maximum number of legs today in centipedes is just over 350. Some species of scolopendra have a maternal instinct - the laid eggs are protected by the female until the offspring hatch.

Centipedes have the ability to regenerate legs, i.e. restore a lost limb.

Scolopendras are long-lived - they live 2-3 years and grow throughout their lives.

Some species of centipedes reproduce by parthenogenesis, i.e. without the participation of a male.

Pink dragon centipede Desmoxytes purpurosea.

This centipede is quite poisonous. She is capable of shooting spikes filled with cyanide at the offender. In South America, capuchin monkeys rub themselves with poisonous centipedes to protect themselves from mosquitoes.

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How many legs does a centipede or centipede actually have?

An insect has many legs, but no one can say exactly how many there are. The number of limbs depends on many factors that play an important role in the life of these creatures.

How many legs does a centipede have?

Centipedes belong to a class group called invertebrates. They have an elongated body, which consists of many segments and limbs.

Previously, they were considered the closest relatives of insects, uniting them with the last representatives in a group called taxon.

However, over time, the opinions of experts were divided:

• some classify them as representatives of crustaceans;
• others speculate that they are similar to chelicerates;
• Still others believe that millipedes are a paraphyletic group in relation to insects, which means that apart from ancient family ties they have nothing in common.

But still, people continue to worry about the question of how many legs centipedes have, because no one can answer it accurately. Just look at the creatures and understand that they have many limbs. Depending on the type, their number can range from several tens to several hundred.

There are 12,000 varieties in nature. The number of legs depends on several factors:

• invertebrate species;
• body parameters;
• gender accessories;
• habitats.

In fact, the number of legs of centipedes is not 40, it can be from 10 to 173. The record holder for the number of limbs is the black African nodule - it is endowed with 400 legs.

In 2005, scientists identified a representative of the creatures, which for many years was considered an extinct species. They counted 750 legs. The length of the body was 33 cm.

The number of legs depends on the parameters and length of the body. For example, giants, which can have a body length of 35 cm, have over 100 legs.

Within one species there are creatures with different body sizes and the number of legs. Females have 2-3 times more of them compared to males

It is worth paying attention to the fact that as insects grow older, the number of legs in insects increases. They can be almost invisible or arachnid-like

It happens that creatures’ limbs are too long; this is usually observed in representatives that live not only on land, but also in water.

Functions of the legs

Why do centipedes need so many limbs? This question arises immediately upon seeing the creature. They make him scary, they give him a disgusting appearance.

But nevertheless, nature thought of everything and endowed this insect with this feature of body structure for a reason.

The legs of centipedes perform the following functions:

• they serve to move. The more limbs, the faster the insect moves;
• with the help of them they can cling to plants and trees;
• for catching and searching for food;
• short legs are able to make passages in the ground through which the creature moves and looks for food;
• the tips of the limbs have claws for moving along steep surfaces;
• Some representatives have long legs, with the help of which they swim in rivers and reservoirs.

Centipedes are extraordinary creatures that frighten many people. Of course, there is little pleasant in an insect that has a long body and many limbs.

But in fact, this organism is safe, it does not harm people and does not interfere with life. On the contrary, it is beneficial; it gets rid of pests. For this reason, if you see this representative, do not rush to kill him right away.

Classification

Centipedes do not form a fairly monolithic class, but are divided into groups so different from each other that many zoologists divide the class of millipedes into four different classes.

We will consider these groups at the rank of subclasses. The class of centipedes (Myriapoda) is divided into four subclasses, two of which are of greatest importance: 1. Dipopods (Diplopoda); 2. Lipopods (Chilopoda).

Subclass Diplopoda

This largest group includes about 7,200 species of moisture-loving centipedes that live in the forest floor, under fallen trees and in stumps. They, unlike some labiopods, rarely climb tree trunks.

Bipeds feed on rotting leaves and decaying wood. Due to their abundance, they bring significant benefits by participating in the mineralization of organic residues: forest litter, dead wood, etc.

In our fauna, peculiar centipedes are common - nooks (genus Julus), with an almost round body in cross section, distinguished by a very large number of legs and slow movements. Nozzles, disturbed by something, curl up into a spiral.

Many bipeds have venom glands on the lateral sections of their dorsal scutes. In some tropical species of millipedes, the poison contains hydrocyanic acid; it was once used by Indians to poison arrows.

Subclass Labiopods Chilopoda

A large group (2800 species) of labiopods are represented by active predators, in contrast to all other millipedes, which feed on decaying or living parts of plants. The predation of labiopods is associated with the transformation of the first pair of their trunk legs into grasping jaws equipped with a poisonous gland.

Labiopods, like all centipedes, lead a predominantly secretive nocturnal lifestyle. During the day, you should look for them under fallen leaves and stones, in hollows and under the bark of dead trees, etc. A small (up to 3.2 cm in length) centipede drupe (Lithobius forficatus) is common in our fauna. She has 16 pairs of legs, of which the hind ones are greatly elongated and perform a tactile function. There are rather long antennae on the head.

In the Crimea, the Caucasus and Central Asia, small centipedes with very long limbs, called flycatchers, are found in human habitations (houses). Eyeless centipedes geophiles with a very large number of segments (more than 170) live in the soil, sometimes deep from the surface. Geophilus longicornis is common in our fauna.

The largest of the labiopods, the poisonous centipedes, are widely represented in the tropics. In the Crimea, the Caucasus and Moldova, the ringed scolopendra (Scolopendra cingulata) is found, reaching a length of 10-17 cm.

Its bite causes not only severe swelling in a person, but also general poisoning. The temperature rises to 38-39°C, general weakness and headache are observed. However, all painful phenomena go away on their own after 1-2 days. The bite of the Brazilian giant scolopendra (S. gigas) also does not appear to be fatal.

https://natural-museum.ru/invertebrates/centipedes

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Size

Centipedes and centipedes come in different sizes. The smallest centipedes grow to no more than 0.4 inches (1 centimeter) in length, while the longest can reach over 12 inches (30 cm) in length. The largest centipedes are known to feed on small mammals, frogs and even birds.

Adult centipedes range in size from 0.12 inches (0.32 cm) to 10.5 inches (27 cm) in length. Some centipedes hatch from their eggs with all the legs they will ever have. Others grow segments towards the ends of their bodies throughout their lives, stopping after reaching a certain number. Still others may continue to add segments and legs throughout life. One species of centipede in California, Illacme plenipes, is only 0.4-1.2 inches (1-3 cm) long but grows up to 750 legs, more than any other creature in the world.

Types of Insect Limbs

The most ancient are the running and walking legs of insects. The remaining types of limbs appeared in the process of long-term development, and, as a rule, are associated with various adaptations to environmental conditions.

Running limbs

The running legs have an elongated shape. They are slender, and the tarsus, lower leg, thigh and coxa are narrow or wide. This type of limbs is present in cockroaches and ground beetles.

walking legs

Walking legs are designed for slow movement. These are the legs of beetles - longhorned beetles, leaf beetles, crawling from leaf to leaf, leisurely gnawing leaves.

Swimming limbs

The hind legs of insects usually become swimming, and less often the middle legs. They are covered with long hairs that form a wide rowing surface - a kind of oar. Basically, representatives with such limbs live in bodies of water and swim and dive excellently. These are swimming beetles, smooth bugs, and water lovers.

Jumping legs

Representatives of the order Orthoptera have jumping legs. These include locusts, grasshoppers, and crickets. Their last pair of legs is very long and powerful. Many representatives of Orthoptera jump in heights of up to eighty centimeters, and if they spread their wings at the same time, the distance covered in one jump reaches about ten meters.

Digging legs

Digging legs are characteristic of the mole cricket, dung beetle, and May beetle. Usually the first pair of legs become digging legs. The limbs of this type are powerful, flat and short.

The legs of grasshoppers give them the ability to move tens of meters in a matter of seconds.

Collective limbs

The limbs of bees and bumblebees are called collective or basket limbs. On the hind legs of these insects there are special areas surrounded by long chitinous hairs; these are baskets. Bees move from flower to flower and get dirty in the pollen that sticks to the hairs of their bodies. With special brushes located on the legs, the bee collects flower pollen into baskets.

the adhesive dust particles form a lump called “polnoka”. The bee carries pollen into the hive and deposits it in the honeycomb. Bee bread soaked in nectar is formed; it serves as a reserve protein food for the entire bee family.

Thanks to the collecting type of legs, the bee can “save” pollen.

Grasping legs

Grasping legs of a praying mantis. They are armed with sharp spines, which the predator uses to hold its prey.

Suction limbs

The legs of males of some species of insects - swimming beetles and ground beetles - have expanded segments at the ends of the legs. During the breeding season, males use these devices to grasp females during mating.

Grasping legs help not only to hold prey, but also to the female during mating.

This is interesting

According to scientists, many people, after reading this material, will not consider their home the same as before. Almost none of us knows or imagines how many species of insects live inside an apartment. According to NC State researchers, it could be hundreds! Experts involved in the research counted more than 500 species:

• insects;
• crustaceans;
• spiders;
• scolopendra, etc.

PeerJ magazine published a detailed report on this.

Researchers visited 50 homes located in different areas of North Carolina in the United States from May to October 2012. Carrying out research, experts took samples of the living creatures they discovered to determine the species. The number of species turned out to be terrifying: 579 species of arthropods belonging to 304 families. Even in the cleanest houses, about 100 different species of insects were found, belonging to one hundred and twenty-eight families. The most common:

• flies;
• worms;
• spiders;
• beetles;
• skin beetles;
• cockroaches;
• ants; centipedes;
• lice;
• arthropods, etc.

Based on the research results, it was concluded that hundreds of species of different living creatures live with humans in symbiosis, without causing harm or disturbing him.

“No one has ever conducted such studies, so one should not expect that these insects cannot be hiding in other houses. We crawled on all fours with flashlights, collecting everyone who appeared on the way into bottles. Like it or not, there are different types of insects living in your homes. Species such as spiders and the house centipede can be considered harmless to humans,” says one of the study’s authors, Professor Matt Bertone, an entomologist at North Carolina State University.

Therefore, despite the appearance and horror that the centipede inspires in you, it is worth considering whether it is necessary to destroy it and fight it. Maybe she will turn out to be a reliable ally in the fight against a whole army of other no less nasty and harmful insects inhabiting your apartments.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=bIlVDAm-u20

A complete description of the cockchafer and its life cycle

All of them are located in the thoracic region - one pair on each of the three component segments. Ancient insects also had legs on their abdomen. This is still reminiscent of the vestigial appendages (extremely simplified remains) of the abdominal legs, which are present in some modern species.

Types

In the process of evolution, under the influence of an appropriate lifestyle, insects have developed several types of limbs.

The most common and least specialized of them are walking and running. In primitive insects, all three pairs of legs are exactly like this, but there are representatives of the superclass in which changes in external conditions and type of movement caused modification of the front and/or back pair of limbs. Thus, in mole crickets and individual beetles, the front legs are adapted for digging, while in mantises - for capturing prey. Powerful hind legs help locusts and grasshoppers to jump, and most aquatic insects help them perform rowing functions.

The middle pair of legs has not undergone specialization during evolution and is needed by all insects for walking.

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Types of insect pupae.

Types of insect larvae.

Insect larvae with complete metamorphosis are divided into three types:

Campodia - with a flattened body, three pairs of thoracic legs, with a well-developed oral apparatus directed forward (ground beetles, ladybugs).

Vermiformes - with a worm-like body.

They may have a well-defined head and thoracic legs (leaf beetles, click beetles). The head and reduced legs (fly larvae) are well defined.

Caterpillars - with a well-developed head, thoracic and false abdominal legs, which are located on the abdominal segments and are present only in the larval phase.

There can be from 2 to 5 pairs of false abdominal legs; such larvae are called caterpillars. These are butterfly larvae. If there are from 6 to 8 pairs of false abdominal legs, the larvae are called false caterpillars (true sawflies).

The following main types are distinguished:

Open, or free pupae, in which legs, antennae and other parts of the body are clearly visible.

Covered pupae, in which the limbs and wings are more or less noticeable, but tightly pressed to the body and slightly open by a hard shell (butterflies).

Barrel-shaped pupae, or puparia, have rounded ends, body parts are not distinguishable, but segmentation (flies) is clearly visible.

Often the pupae are enclosed in cocoons, which, before pupation, produce larvae using the secretions of special spinning glands.

Cocoons can be dense (sawflies), loose (sawflies), multi-layered (silkworms).

Some insects make cocoons from wood shavings (willow woodborer), from soil (bronze moth), gluing individual particles with cobwebs or saliva.

The legs of insects consist of several segments: coxa, trochanter, femur, tibia, tarsus, uniting from 1 to 5 small segments, at its end there are 1 - 2 claws.

The structure and size of individual parts are related to the lifestyle of insects.

Leg types:

• Runners (ground beetles, cockroaches). Elongated, slender lower leg and tarsus, coxa and thigh can be narrow or wide.
• Grasping (front legs of the praying mantis).

Number of legs in insects

So how many legs do insects have? One of the distinguishing characteristics of this class is the presence of three pairs of paws. They are all located in the thoracic region, with one pair on each of the three component segments.

Ancient insects also had legs on their abdomen, which is still reminiscent of the presence of rudimentary appendages in some modern species.

Under the influence of a certain lifestyle during the process of evolution, these creatures developed several types of paws. The most common of them are running and walking. Primitive insects have just such three pairs of legs. For some representatives of the superclass, changes in external conditions and subsequently in the manner of movement entailed modification of the limbs. The middle pair of legs did not undergo specialization during evolution. It is needed for walking.

What to do if you are bitten by a scolopendra

But if you do get bitten by a scolopendra, be prepared for the following consequences (we’ll warn you right away, not fatal). The bites can be very painful and go away slowly over 1-2 days. The main symptoms that you may experience: at the very moment of the bite there will be a sharp and prolonged pain; the severity of the pain can vary (from slight to “10” on a 10-point pain scale); body temperature may increase; you may feel severe weakness; Most likely, the sensitivity of the skin in the bite area will significantly increase, swelling and redness will appear, and loss of sensitivity and a feeling of numbness may also occur.

Scolopendras are somewhat similar to wasps, which do not leave a sting in the wound and can sting a person several times in a row. Often, at the moment of detection by a person, this creature continues to inflict multiple punctures, introducing even more poison. Centipedes usually bite when a person is resting in bed, but they can also crawl into clothes and bite the moment you start getting dressed.

But there is good news: scolopendra bites are not fatal! For a person to die from its poison, he must be bitten by several thousand individuals at the same time!

Helpful advice: if you are bitten by a scolopendra, find a heating pad at home, fill it with moderately hot water (up to 45 degrees C) and apply it to the bite site - this simple measure should bring relief. Scientists have not yet found an explanation for this phenomenon, but they suspect that this is possible due to the fact that some components of scolopendra venom are unstable to heat. The second remedy is ice and analgesics.

Are centipedes dangerous for your home?

And you don’t have to worry about clothes, paper documents, furniture and other items. A centipede is not a moth or a silverfish. She is not at all interested in your things. Another thing is that some centipedes can spoil the air in the house due to the fact that they secrete a bad-smelling secretion - but even that is unlikely - there must be too many of these arthropods in your house for you to smell it. In addition, since centipedes are plant scavengers, they may become interested in rotting wood. We advise you to check attics and basements more often for moisture and for such “yummy things.”

We hope we didn't intimidate you. Therefore, at the end, in order to “whiten up” our heroes a little, let’s tell you how centipedes are useful. They are very active in destroying pests. Their diet includes bedbugs, flies, cockroaches, termites and even spiders. So sometimes centipedes turn into real “guardians of housing” from even more harmful creatures. Therefore, if you are not afraid of such many-legged neighbors, then live with them “in peace and harmony.”

Are centipedes insects or not?

The adult insect has an elongated, flattened body consisting of 15 segments. For each segment there is one pair of legs, the length of which increases from the head to the tail. The last pair of legs are so elongated that they look more like antennae (can be confused with the head). Due to the large number of long thin legs, scutigera looks like a hairy or shaggy centipede.

The first pair of legs are transformed into jaws, with which the centipede grabs prey and defends itself from enemies. When hunting, flycatchers inject poison into the body of the victim and then eat it. Flycatchers have good eyesight and a movement speed of up to 40 cm/sec. The antennae are whip-like, very long. The color is yellowish-gray or brownish, with three stripes along the body.

The flycatcher lives 3-7 years, growing up to 6 cm. You can distinguish an adult insect from a young one by the number of legs. The centipede that emerges from the egg has only 4 pairs of them. The number of legs increases after each molt, eventually reaching 15 pairs.

The range of flycatchers covers the distance from Southern Europe to North Africa. On the territory of Russia, it lives in the Black Earth Region, the Caucasus, Crimea and the Volga region.

Visual differences of a centipede

To say that the flycatcher is an insect is not entirely correct. In fact, it belongs to the group of arthropods called tracheae. Its body consists of 15 segments, due to which it is held in one position.

The legs become noticeably longer as they approach the rear part. The last pair of legs may be longer than the body itself.

The special structure of the body allows the insect to move at the desired pace without touching its own legs.

Often long pairs of legs are confused with whiskers, causing confusion regarding the position of the head and tail. As a result of many years of living in an apartment, the ordinary domestic scolopendra has been somewhat modified - the front pair of its legs has transformed into a jaw. With its help, the insect gets to food in hard-to-reach places.

On the sides of the centipede's head there are eyes and so-called antennae-catchers consisting of several hundred segments. By analogy with locators, they monitor changes in the environment, help explore space, react to temperature changes, and become a guide in finding comfortable and safe places.

What attracts flycatchers to a person’s home?

In nature, flycatchers live in fallen leaves; in the winter they crawl into places sheltered from the cold. They penetrate into human habitation mainly in the fall, due to the beginning of their passages. Room temperature is quite comfortable for these predators. In the house they choose dark places: spaces under the bathroom, basements, and continue to lead a predatory lifestyle - they catch all the insects they can find.

So how many legs does a centipede actually have, is there really 40 or 42? There's an answer!

Different types of centipedes also have different numbers of limbs. On average, they have from 15 to 20 pairs of legs along their body, although there are centipedes with 60 or even 80 legs.

Under the influence of the evolutionary process, the first pair of limbs of the centipede was transformed into special jaws, which are adapted to hold their prey. Almost all centipedes go hunting at night. Having caught the victim, the centipede injects poison into its body and thereby causes terrible and acute pain (just like from a wasp sting). The basis of their diet consists of small insects - slugs, snails, worms and others.

Centipedes belong to a class group called invertebrates. They have an elongated body, which consists of many segments and limbs. Previously, they were considered the closest relatives of insects, uniting them with the last representatives in a group called taxon.

However, over time, the opinions of experts were divided:

• some classify them as representatives of crustaceans;
• others speculate that they are similar to chelicerates;
• Still others believe that millipedes are a paraphyletic group in relation to insects, which means that apart from ancient family ties they have nothing in common.

But still, people continue to worry about the question of how many legs centipedes have, because no one can answer it accurately. Just look at the creatures and understand that they have many limbs.

Depending on the type, their number can range from several tens to several hundred.

There are 12,000 varieties in nature. The number of legs depends on several factors:

• invertebrate species;
• body parameters;
• gender accessories;
• habitats.

In fact, the number of legs of centipedes is not 40, it can be from 10 to 173. The record holder for the number of limbs is the black African nodule - it is endowed with 400 legs.

In 2005, scientists identified a representative of the creatures, which for many years was considered an extinct species. They counted 750 legs. The length of the body was 33 cm.

The number of legs depends on the parameters and length of the body. For example, giants, which can have a body length of 35 cm, have over 100 legs.

Within one species there are creatures with different body sizes and the number of legs. Females have 2-3 times more of them compared to males.

It is worth paying attention to the fact that as insects grow older, the number of legs in insects increases. They can be almost invisible or arachnid-like

It happens that creatures’ limbs are too long; this is usually observed in representatives that live not only on land, but also in water.

How many legs does the Common Flycatcher have? Watch the entomologist's story on video

Habits, instincts and life of the flycatcher: the most interesting

You should know that the centipede (the photo will not allow you to make a mistake) is an insect that is equally active at any time of the day. Every hour, every minute she looks for prey. As soon as the victim is identified, the flycatcher injects a portion of a toxic substance into it to neutralize it and only after that it eats it without haste.

The common centipede is an insect with a mission. Being a representative of the most ancient inhabitants of the planet, it deserves special attention. At first glance, scary and unpleasant insects actually provide invaluable assistance to humans by eating a lot of pests, for example:

• flies;
• cockroaches;
• fleas;
• ants;
• bedbugs, etc.

There are up to 8,000 species of this insect in the world, but only 3,000 of them have been officially documented, such as the Chinese centipede, which reaches a quarter of a meter in length with a body of 23 sections, or the bright black African centipede with a body up to 28 cm long!

Almost none of the discovered species of centipedes are dangerous to humans. Yes, arthropods can bite, but all that a centipede bite can do is cause allergies, and then only in people who are prone to this kind of reaction with a slight increase in temperature and swelling at the site of the bite.

In the insect world, the centipede is one of the dominant predators with claws on the first segment. She is a carnivore, so she prefers clean meat from small insects. Large species can cope not only with invertebrates, but also with small reptiles, as well as worms, frogs, spiders and even birds.

Are flycatchers harmful?

In the apartment, she does not damage the furniture and does not touch human food. She is only interested in insects, and in a few weeks she can clean an apartment of them no worse than a vacuum cleaner.

The flycatcher does not tolerate any diseases, does not attack humans or animals, and generally tries to stay away from all household members. Despite the fact that the insect is poisonous, its disposition is peaceful. If possible, she will not enter into conflict - she will simply run away. Of course, she can try to bite, but only in self-defense.

How many legs do centipedes have: let's count together

Both a tongue twister and an entertaining question for children. How many legs do centipedes have? Any child will answer - forty. But no, not forty at all. How is it possible, I was always forty, it started from childhood.

Let's talk about what centipedes are. What are they like? And we will answer the main question, seemingly known to all of us from a young age.

Centipede is...

A multi-legged insect whose body is quite long. There are several types of these creatures. Some of them grow up to 30 cm in length, while others live their entire short lives at a size of several centimeters.

There are significant differences between centipedes not only in size. This is appearance, lifestyle and, of course, the number of legs.

The body structure is as follows: the smallest representatives of the species have about 10 body segments. The fact is that the insect’s body is divided into segments.

And in those centipedes whose “height” is 30 cm, the number of these same segments sometimes reaches 173. Each of them has one pair of legs, which are located on the sides of the body. The legs are quite short.

How many legs do the smallest and largest centipedes have? This is not difficult to calculate if you know the number of segments of the insect's body.

Interesting Facts

It would seem that what is interesting about an insect that cannot figure out the number of its own legs? However, there are facts in the life of centipedes that cannot be ignored:

1. These creatures are partial to high humidity. They can easily live in those houses and apartments where the insects like the humidity.
2. How many pairs of legs do centipedes have? This question is difficult to answer, because they have an odd number of legs.
3. The scientific name of the insect is scolopendra.
4. Scolopendra is quite a thing. She can be quite dangerous. What is the danger of such a baby? The fact is that it is poisonous.
5. They inject poison into their prey.
6. Are centipedes dangerous for adults? Oddly enough, yes. Meetings with some of the centipede representatives can be fatal for humans.
7. Particularly dangerous are centipedes—“new settlers”—who choose people as neighbors and decide to move into their apartments for permanent residence.
8. Only one individual with an even number of legs has been found in nature.
9. Despite their formidable qualities, centipedes are excellent house cleaners from cockroaches and other nasty insects.
10. That same centipede, reaching a length of 30 cm, is also called the giant Amazonian centipede. Found in South America. This young lady is very nervous and can jump high when scared. And it feeds on insects, lizards, mice and birds. Not the most inspiring diet. If such an individual bites a person, the latter is not in danger of death. But the poisoning will be obvious.
11. How many legs do centipedes have? A little more and the secret will be revealed.

The most important question

How many pairs of legs do centipedes have? The answer to this question will be known in a few seconds.

So, attention. Centipedes have from 15 to 346 legs. Here's how

And not forty at all, as it turned out

Here's how. And not forty at all, as it turned out.

How many pairs of legs do 40 centipedes have? Even if we take as a basis the minimum, that is, 15 legs, simple arithmetic will help us. We multiply 15 by 40 and get 600. An impressive figure, however.

How many legs does a centipede have?

Which animal has the most legs? In centipedes! For such an answer you can easily get the rank not even of Captain, but of General Obviousness.

If someone is not able to immediately imagine what centipedes are, let them remember centipedes or flycatchers, more familiar to our latitudes - useful creatures, the appearance of which, unfortunately, usually causes panic among nervous ordinary people. One look at centipedes is enough to appreciate their “legs”.

But another question - exactly how many legs centipedes have - is not so easy to answer. Zoologists carry out such calculations, and, according to scientific data, the number of legs can reach several hundred, but not more than a thousand: this level is unattainable for centipedes. Some species, however, come very close to this figure. For example, the Puerto Rican Siphonophora millepeda has 742 legs.

In 2005, zoologist Paul Marek from the University of Arizona (USA) discovered the centipede Illacme plenipes, which was considered extinct (the last data on it was in 1928).

The “resurrection” of the centipede would have gone unnoticed if not for the 750 legs of this species, breaking the Puerto Rican record. Moreover, all these legs fit on a body some 3.2 cm long. It is worth clarifying, however: only females I have a monstrous number of legs.

plenipes; males have almost half as many limbs, with an average of 300 to 400.

Centipede I. plenipes (photo by Paul Marek / University of Arizona).

The centipede I. plenipes lives on a small piece of land of 4.5 km² on the outskirts of Silicon Valley (California, USA), in an area occupied by wet oak forests. The arthropod spends most of its time underground - not too deep, however. Over the course of several years since the rediscovery of I.

plenipes, researchers looked for new individuals and continued to study the anatomy and ecology of the centipede. The results of their work were published as an article in ZooKeys. The huge number of legs, researchers believe, helps the animal dig underground passages. With an underground burrowing lifestyle I.

Zoologists say that the centipede needs countless protrusions for protection: at the ends of these projections there are pores that secrete certain chemicals to repel predators. Perhaps too many legs just help animals overcome the resistance of all these outgrowths and protrusions that make movement difficult.

Fragment of the body of the centipede I. plenipes under an electron microscope.

The back of I. plenipes is covered with many bristles that secrete a substance similar to sticky silk threads. Scientists find it difficult to say why centipedes need this.

One explanation is that with the help of this sticky silk the arthropod protects itself from debris, which can be easily cleaned off in such a sticky wrapper.

I. plenipes feed on the juices of plants and fungi, and their mouth is modified accordingly: they cannot grab and tear food, they only prick and suck. At the same time, they have an intestine of exceptional length, which forms a spiral inside the body.

A long intestine allows for more complete absorption of water and nutrients. And, as scientists believe, it could be an indirect reason for the increase in the number of legs.

That is, additional legs are only a by-product, a secondary result of embryological processes, the main goal of which is to lengthen the intestines.

Researchers hope that they will be able to find these super-legged creatures somewhere else: it would be a pity if their range was equal to the area of ​​​​several football fields. According to scientists, they have discovered several more areas in California that are very similar to the oak forests where the centipede lives.

For further research, zoologists need material, so they need to make sure that scientific efforts will not harm the animals, that there are enough of them to withstand the research onslaught.

However, whatever else scientists discover about this centipede, it is unlikely to be as amazing as its 750 legs.

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