Awsome facts about Centipedes||THE APPU WORLD
Centipede
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Centipedes have a rounded or flattened head, bearing a pair of antennae at the forward margin. They have a pair of elongated mandibles, and two pairs of maxillae. The first pair of maxillae form the lower lip, and bear short palps. The first pair of limbs stretch forward from the body to cover the remainder of the mouth. These limbs, or maxillipeds, end in sharp claws and include venom glands that help the animal to kill or paralyze its prey.
Many species of centipedes lack eyes, but some possess a variable number of ocelli, which are sometimes clustered together to form true compound eyes. However, these eyes are only capable of discerning light and dark, and have no true vision. In some species, the first pair of legs at the head end of the centipede acts as sense organs similar to antennae, but unlike the antennae of most other animals, theirs point backwards. Unusual sense organs found in some groups are the organs of Tömösváry. These are located at the base of the antennae, and consist of a disc-like structure with a central pore surrounded by sensory cells. They are probably used for sensing vibrations, and may even provide a sense of hearing.
Forcipules are a unique feature found only in centipedes and in no other arthropods. The forcipules are modifications of the first pair of legs (the maxillipeds), forming a pincer-like appendage always found just behind the head.Forcipules are not true mouthparts, although they are used in the capture of prey items, injecting venom and holding onto captured prey. Venom glands run through a tube almost to the tip of each forcipule.
Behind the head, the body consists of 15 or more segments. Most of the segments bear a single pair of legs, with the maxillipeds projecting forward from the first body segment, and the final two segments being small and legless. Each pair of legs is slightly longer than the pair immediately in front of it, ensuring that they do not overlap, so reducing the chance that they will collide with each other while moving swiftly. In extreme cases, the last pair of legs may be twice the length of the first pair. The final segment bears a telson and includes the openings of the reproductive organs.
As predators, centipedes mainly use their antennae to seek out their prey. The digestive tract forms a simple tube, with digestive glands attached to the mouthparts. Like insects, centipedes breathe through a tracheal system, typically with a single opening, or spiracle, on each body segment. They excrete waste through a single pair of malpighian tubules.
Scolopendra gigantea, also known as the Amazonian giant centipede, is the largest existing species of centipede, reaching over 30 cm (12 in) in length. It is known to eat lizards, frogs,birds, mice, and even bats, catching them in midflight, as well as rodents and spiders.
Centipedes are predominantly generalist predators, which means they have adapted to eat a variety of different available prey. Examination of centipede gut contents suggests that plant material is Earthworms an unimportant part of their diets, although centipedes have been observed to eat vegetable matter when starved during laboratory experiments.
Centipedes are mostly nocturnal. Studies on their activity rhythms confirm this, although a few observations of centipedes active during the day have been made, and one species, Strigamia chinophila, is diurnal. What centipedes actually eat is not well known because of their cryptic lifestyles and thorough mastication of food. Laboratory feeding trials support that they will feed as generalists, taking almost anything that is soft-bodied and in a reasonable size range. Earthworms may provide the bulk of diets for geophilomorphs, since they burrow through the soil and earthworm bodies would be easily pierced by their venomous claws. Geophilomorphs probably cannot subdue earthworms larger than themselves, so smaller earthworms may be a substantial proportion of their diet.
Scolopendromorphs, given their size, are able to feed on vertebrates, in addition to invertebrates. Springtails may provide a large proportion of lithobiomorph diets. Little is known about scutigeromorph or craterostigmomorph diets. All centipedes are potential intraguild predators. Centipedes and spiders may frequently prey on one another. Two species, Scolopendra cataracta and S. paradoxa are known to be amphibious and are believed to hunt aquatic or amphibious invertebrates.
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