# ID South Africa Centipedes please



## aquadementia (Apr 4, 2016)

HI guys

Herewith two centipedes I found while rock flipping around Pretoria, Gauteng province, South Africa

Is this Scolopendra heros?






and I think this is Cormocephalus nitidus?






and here is a local snake that only eats centipedes - Apparalactus capensis (Black Headed Centipede Eater). They are mildly venomous, and max out around 40cm. Sometimes they get eaten by centipedes! This particular specimen was found in the same area as the centipede above






Found a ton of big blue centipedes further north a few months ago. miraculously failed to photograph them! :'(

thanks!

Reactions: Like 4


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## Staehilomyces (Apr 4, 2016)

Very cool! While unsure of the identity of the first one, I can be pretty sure that isn't S. Heros. As for the second one, it certainly fits the Cormocephalus genus in my eyes, but don't bet the house on my identification.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## Mastigoproctus (Apr 4, 2016)

Yeah @Staehilomyces is right, defiantly not S. Heros as they are absent in your neck of the woods. It's a strange CF of Scolopendra Morsitans 100% for sure, the terminal legs build and absences of a ring furrow give it away. Never seen anything like it, I would love to import some of these! Both species actually. You mention a big blue one, how big is it by chance? 15-20cm? Real interested in seeing that species, I suspect you are speaking of a rather rare giant Ethmostigmus sp., well rare in the hobby if not all together absent like these 2 you have here.


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## aquadementia (Apr 4, 2016)

thanks guys!  Very interesting, I'll search the forum for the species mentioned.

Guess what I found some snapshots on my phone
Yeah they were in that 15-20cm+ range.
 They were VERY prolific where we found them. Literally hand to mind your step at night

Reactions: Like 6


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## Mastigoproctus (Apr 4, 2016)

Omg! That's the most amazing Ethmostigmus I've ever seen!


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## Mastigoproctus (Apr 4, 2016)

I've been looking for a centipede like that for a longgg time, no current exporters ever have them or even know where to get them.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Staehilomyces (Apr 4, 2016)

That is one of the coolest centipedes I have ever seen.


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## beetleman (Apr 4, 2016)

well, back in 2000 they were very plentyful in the bug trade,and yeah they were good sized ive kept many,and ofcourse had lots of babies from them, but after about a year from that, that was it they vanished from the trade. kept all of mine,babies then sold.traded etc,thinking oh yeah they'll be around for awhile.............nope that was it,wish i kept them and all.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Staehilomyces (Apr 4, 2016)

What were they like temperament wise? Also, do you know the scientific name of this beautiful species?


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## aquadementia (Apr 5, 2016)

they werent too aggressive, I kept two adults together for a few days with no issues. They fed well and I could touch them without much hassle

Are there exporters from Africa or rather mostly European breeders?


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## Mastigoproctus (Apr 5, 2016)

There are plenty of exporters in Africa, mostly Tanzania to my knowledge though and they all have common, plain stuff.


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## Staehilomyces (Apr 6, 2016)

One question, how big was that Cormocephalus nitidus?

Edit: You also said that sometimes those snakes get eaten by centipedes. Have you ever seen this happen? If so, I'm sure we'd all love to see some photographs.


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## aquadementia (Apr 7, 2016)

it was 5 - 6 inches, I didnt actually take photos for scale but it was in that range

Couldnt find the photos I've seen with the centipede actually eating the snake, but I did find the following:

A guy reversed over both in his garage 






and here the snake won

Reactions: Like 2


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## Staehilomyces (Apr 7, 2016)

The second one looks like that big blue Ethmostigmus


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## F1refly (Apr 13, 2016)

Well well well, fancy seeing you here. I've actually been looking for Ethnostigmus for a while but all we get here are small blue centipedes with red heads, and some sort of Caramel coloured one with a black lateral stripe.


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## Mastigoproctus (Apr 13, 2016)

F1refly said:


> Well well well, fancy seeing you here. I've actually been looking for Ethnostigmus for a while but all we get here are small blue centipedes with red heads, and some sort of Caramel coloured one with a black lateral stripe.


Pics of these pedes you speak of?


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## F1refly (Apr 14, 2016)

Mastigoproctus said:


> Pics of these pedes you speak of?


I'll see what I can manage, they don't like staying still

Reactions: Like 1


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## F1refly (Apr 14, 2016)

I apologise for the quality, I had to resize each image so I hope not too much detail has been lost
The locality details for the first 2 
Smithfield 
Free State
South Africa
don't have the GPS yet
And both were found under cow dung

Blue






Caramel with Lateral Stripe





And these 2 should be different forms of S. morsitans right? Not sure where exactly these were collected





This one ^ is actually smaller than the one just before, which is why its in a smaller tub. Its actually very deep

Reactions: Like 3


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## Staehilomyces (Apr 14, 2016)

Very attractive creatures! The blue one looks like a Cormocephalus, to judge from the terminal legs. In Australia, there are many representatives of that genus, and they are quite colourful little characters.


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## zonbonzovi (Apr 14, 2016)

I can't remember, is Cormocephalus missing spiracles on sements 6 & 7?  Looks like it in the first pic.  Looks like westwoodi.  I think they also have S. African distribution?  I wish I could make caramel guy out better.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Mastigoproctus (Apr 15, 2016)

How big are the blue ones and are they abundant where they were collected? The Carmel ones looks 100% identical to a rare local pede I have in NM that people told me was a viridis but I am convinced it's not due to body structure and size. Yes the last 2 pic are morsitans, look like Tanzinia variants to me.


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## F1refly (Apr 15, 2016)

I'm not 100% sure on how abundant they are, but they do seem to be the most common in the area. This one is roughly 8cm in length, but I have found a few others that exceed that by a small amount

Looking at the Caramel-ish one with a Magnifiying glass it appears to have a black head as well, not sure what colour the Antennae are though


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## Staehilomyces (Apr 16, 2016)

I think the blue ones are a form of Cormocephalus westwoodi, to judge from the red head and shape of the terminals.


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## Brett Anthony (Sep 5, 2016)

This is the second centipede I have had in my garden, this one lives near my fish pond under a big rock. He was at the bottom of the fish pond this morning not moving, so I took him out and put him in the sun for a few seconds and he was ready to carry on with his day. 

Are they a rare find, or are they quite common?

Herewith two centipedes I found while rock flipping around Pretoria, Gauteng province, South Africa

Is this Scolopendra heros?






and I think this is Cormocephalus nitidus?






and here is a local snake that only eats centipedes - Apparalactus capensis (Black Headed Centipede Eater). They are mildly venomous, and max out around 40cm. Sometimes they get eaten by centipedes! This particular specimen was found in the same area as the centipede above






Found a ton of big blue centipedes further north a few months ago. miraculously failed to photograph them! :'(

thanks![/QUOTE]


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## InvertAdict (Apr 24, 2017)

He/She is beautiful but I don't know of the top of my head what it is.


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## NARIES (Nov 23, 2017)

F1refly said:


> And these 2 should be different forms of S. morsitans right? Not sure where exactly these were collected
> View attachment 208381
> 
> 
> ...


Hi all!
I just discovered this forum, and I am looking for some centipede and arachnides species. I went through some posts, and I think one of my centipede looks exactly like your orange/yellow, but I don't find which name corresponds to it!



I put also another pic to ID.



Both animals come from North of South Africa, border with Zimbabwe.
Thanks a lot for your help!
Emilie


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## LawnShrimp (Nov 23, 2017)

The first one looks like S. morsitans; the baby is difficult to tell as babies have different coloring than adults, but it could be the same.


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## NARIES (Nov 24, 2017)

Great thanks!
I am really not good in myriapods, how can you tell it is a baby? what do you look at?


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## LeFanDesBugs (Nov 24, 2017)

I wouldn't say it's a baby- must have been  5-6 cm, right naries?
Makes me think of cingulata-but obviously we don't have any records of population there. Probably another colorform of morsitans


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## Staehilomyces (Nov 24, 2017)

Mirabilis perhaps?


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## NARIES (Nov 24, 2017)

LeFanDesBugs said:


> I wouldn't say it's a baby- must have been  5-6 cm, right naries?


Maybe a bit more, but definitely less than 10cm


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## LeFanDesBugs (Nov 24, 2017)

Yeah so definitely not a baby. 
Lawnshrimp's point was that a pedeling displays vivid coloration which is in no way related to an adult's. But this specimen being subadult, it's safe to assume it belongs to a colorful species-judging by the overall shape that belongs to genus Scolopendra.
-> Scolopendra morsitans would be a fair bet. But I may be wrong about the genus.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## LawnShrimp (Nov 24, 2017)

LeFanDesBugs said:


> Yeah so definitely not a baby.
> Lawnshrimp's point was that a pedeling displays vivid coloration which is in no way related to an adult's. But this specimen being subadult, it's safe to assume it belongs to a colorful species-judging by the overall shape that belongs to genus Scolopendra.
> -> Scolopendra morsitans would be a fair bet. But I may be wrong about the genus.


woops! Well, the blue legs seemed different from the yellow-legged animal which looks much bigger. I have so many little yellow lpings running around now so I must have plings on the mind.


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## LeFanDesBugs (Nov 24, 2017)

Staehilomyces said:


> Mirabilis perhaps?


Mirabilis looks different (tergites)



LawnShrimp said:


> woops! Well, the blue legs seemed different from the yellow-legged animal which looks much bigger. I have so many little yellow plings running around now so I must have plings on the mind.


Haha yeah must be that 
Both animals must be different colorforms. But honestly morsitans is a messy species too.


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## NARIES (Nov 24, 2017)

Thanks guys for your help! Ok, so morsitans for sure for the yellow-one, and maybe a colourful variant of morsitans for the other one if I followed you correctly!


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## LeFanDesBugs (Nov 24, 2017)

Yes


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