Centipede anatomy - test my knowledge!

Staehilomyces

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Mar 2, 2016
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I feel like I will be filming my video on centipede anatomy soon, and I want to make sure I'm up to speed, so here's what I'll be including. Please point out anything that is missing or incorrect.

Tergite - dorsal plate covering a metameric segment of an arthropod.
Metamerical segmentation - number of segments does not change with growth.
Cephalic plate - armor plate on the head.
Ocelli - simple eyes.
Antenna - self explanatory, used to detect vibrations and chemical trails.
Antennomere - segments on antennae; may be glabrous (smooth) or *what is the term for "not glabrous"?*
Trunk - main body of a centipede.
Spiracle - specialized breathing structures, allow for gas exchange.
Terminal legs - final pair of legs, used for defense.
Forcipules - modified legs that inject venom.
 

Dennis Nedry

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Sounds good to me, keep us updated. You're one of the few you tubers I wait to see upload
 

Salvador

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Apr 13, 2013
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I feel like I will be filming my video on centipede anatomy soon, and I want to make sure I'm up to speed, so here's what I'll be including. Please point out anything that is missing or incorrect.


Metamerical segmentation - number of segments does not change with growth. - Careful with this one, all centipedes are considered metameric, but many do gain segments as they grow (anamorphic) , while Scolopendromorpha do not; which is epimorphic growth.

Antennomere - segments on antennae; may be glabrous (smooth) or *what is the term for "not glabrous"?* - Generally, "hirsute" seems to be used, smooth segments are often called "sparsely hirsute" in papers as they're not 100% smooth.
 

LawnShrimp

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Tergite - dorsal plate covering a metameric segment of an arthropod. The "belly scales" of a centipede are also called sternites.
Metamerical segmentation - number of segments does not change with growth. (What @Salvador said)
Cephalic plate - armor plate on the head.
Ocelli - simple eyes.
Antenna - self explanatory, used to detect vibrations and chemical trails.
Antennomere - segments on antennae; may be glabrous (smooth) or *what is the term for "not glabrous"?* Hirsute/Sparsely hirsute antennomeres
Trunk - main body of a centipede.
Spiracle - specialized breathing structures, allow for gas exchange. Do mention Otostigmines like Ethmostigmus have round spiracles and a greatly enlarged first spiracle.
Terminal legs - final pair of legs, used for defense. Terminals are also a very important part of mating displays; males of many species form a tunnel of their last pairs of legs for the female to place her antennae into, or lock terminal legs as a display of strength. A good article on terminals here.
Forcipules - modified legs that inject venom.

Otherwise, I say you've got a fairly good list that will inform your viewers. I look forward to it!
 

Salvador

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^ Shrimp has also added in some great further info. The link to the terminal leg paper for Scolopendromorpha is a great one, another has also been published with more depth too, covering Chilopods in general : https://peerj.com/articles/4023/
 

Staehilomyces

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Hey, one more thing, to what extent can certain features differentiate between centipedes?
For instance:

Number of glabrous vs hirstute antennomeres - can differentiate species
Segments that spiracles are present on - genera? families?
Segments that the paramedian sulci begin/end on - what?
 

LawnShrimp

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Can't help directly with this stuff but the stickied threads "Keys to Scolopendromorpha" and "Keys to Scolopendra" have a wealth of information about these very specific features.
 
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Salvador

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Apr 13, 2013
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1. The number of sparsely hirsute segments is used to a degree to differentiate similar species, but rarely on it's own, as like terminal leg spination, it can sometimes slightly vary. Usually when looking at differences, it's a collection of features such as the ones you're listing in combination.

2. With Otostigminae such as Ethmostigmus, the presence of spiracles helps with genus ID; If present on segments 7&8, then you have either Ethmostigmus or Rhysida, which are then further separated by other structures. An easy one is Rhysida have long thin terminals compared to Ethmostigmus, but there are other differences too, but require a much closer look.

3. Where any sulci are present, whether on the headplate, as a ringfurrow, or paramedian on tergites/sternites, they are sometimes used in ID too, such as where they begin or end and how complete they are on the plate, or if present at all. The same can be said for tergite ridges and keels. Again, they usually need to be used with other features to help diagnose to species level.
 
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