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Scolopendra

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Scolopendra
Scolopendra cingulata
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Myriapoda
Class: Chilopoda
Order: Scolopendromorpha
Family: Scolopendridae
Genus: Scolopendra
Linnaeus, 1758
Type species
Scolopendra morsitans [1]

Scolopendra (through Latin from Greek σκολόπενδρα, skolopendra) is a species-rich genus of large tropical centipedes of the family Scolopendridae.

Description

The genus Scolopendra contains many species of centipedes found across the world's tropics and warmer temperate areas. The species vary considerably in coloration and size. Scolopendra are mostly very large centipedes. The largest species found in tropical climates can exceed 30 cm (12 in) and are the largest living centipedes in the world.[2] All Scolopendra species can deliver a painful bite, injecting venom through their forcipules, which are not fangs or other mouthparts, but instead modified legs on the first body segment.

Ecology

Scolopendra are active predators, feeding primarily on insects and other invertebrates. Larger specimens have been observed preying on frogs, tarantulas, lizards, birds, snakes, rodents, and even bats.[3] One southeast Asian species, S. cataracta, is amphibious, and swims and walks underwater.[4][5]

Venom

The venom is not medically significant for most species, however bites from several species can cause intense and long-lasting pain and swelling. Large Scolopendra species from Asian/Pacific regions, such as Scolopendra subspinipes and Scolopendra dehaani, are particularly potent, and have caused one reported fatality.[6] In 2014, a fatality was reported for a bite from a Scolopendra gigantea.[7] The venom of certain Scolopendra species were found to contain compounds such as serotonin, haemolytic phospholipase, a cardiotoxic protein, and a cytolysin.[8]

YouTube personality and wildlife educator Coyote Peterson has been bitten by Scolopendra heros and declared the envenomation by it to be more painful and dangerous than any sting he has ever received from an animal including tarantula hawks, bullet ants, and Polistes carnifex.

Taxonomic history

Scolopendra was one of the genera created by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae, the starting point for zoological nomenclature. Only two of the species originally assigned to the genus remain so: Scolopendra gigantea and S. morsitans; the latter was chosen to be the type species by Opinion 454 of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature,[2] overruling a previous designation by Pierre André Latreille, in which he chose Linnaeus' Scolopendra forficata (now Lithobius forficatus) as the type species.[9]

Species

The genus Scolopendra contains these species:[1][10]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Scolopendra Linnaeus, 1758". ChiloBase. Università di Padova. Archived from the original on July 22, 2011. Retrieved October 29, 2010.
  2. ^ a b R. M. Shelley; S. B. Kiser (2000). "Neotype designation and a diagnostic account for the centipede, Scolopendra gigantea L. 1758, with an account of S. galapagoensis Bollman 1889 (Chilopoda Scolopendromorpha Scolopendridae)" (PDF). Tropical Zoology. 13 (1): 159–170. doi:10.1080/03946975.2000.10531129. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |lastauthoramp= ignored (|name-list-style= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ J. Molinari, E. E. Gutiérrez, A. A. de Ascenção, J. M. Nassar, A. Arends & R. J. Márquez (2005). "Predation by giant centipedes, Scolopendra gigantea, on three species of bats in a Venezuelan cave" (PDF). Caribbean Journal of Science. 41 (2): 340–346. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-10-09.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Holmes, O. (1 July 2016). "Giant swimming, venomous centipede discovered by accident in world-first". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  5. ^ Bates, M. (26 June 2016). "'Horrific' First Amphibious Centipede Discovered". National Geographic. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  6. ^ S. P. Bush, B. O. King, R. L. Norris & S. A. Stockwell (2001). "Centipede envenomation". Wilderness & Environmental Medicine. 12 (2): 93–99. doi:10.1580/1080-6032(2001)012[0093:CE]2.0.CO;2. PMID 11434497.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Aguilera, María; Díaz, Gienah (13 November 2014). "Niño de 4 años murió tras ser picado por ciempiés gigante". El Tiempo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 27 March 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  8. ^ Robert L. Norris (November 19, 2008). "Centipede Envenomation". eMedicine. Retrieved October 29, 2010.
  9. ^ Ralph E. Crabill Jr. (1955). "Proposed use of the plenary powers to designate for the genus "Scolopendra" Linnaeus (Class Myriapoda) a type species in harmony with the accustomed usage". Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature. 11 (4): 134–136. doi:10.5962/bhl.part.2832.
  10. ^ a b Siriwut, Warut; Edgecombe, Gregory D.; Sutcharit, Chirasak; Tongkerd, Piyoros; Panha, Somsak (May 17, 2016). "A taxonomic review of the centipede genus Scolopendra Linnaeus, 1758 (Scolopendromorpha, Scolopendridae) in mainland Southeast Asia, with description of a new species from Laos". ZooKeys (590): 1–124. doi:10.3897/zookeys.590.7950. PMC 4926625. PMID 27408540.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
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