# Pics of my Chinese Beauty (Scolopendra multidens).



## ragnew (Apr 2, 2010)

I've had this beastie for quite a while now, and have yet to post pics of this particular pede. I can honestly say that it's easily one of the craziest species I've dealt with. Also never refuses a meal.

I'm curious though, there are 4 black markings on the animals head that have been there since day one. What do you think they are? They haven't gotten any worse, and there haven't been anymore showing up. Could it be scar tissue or something? You can see it in quite a few of the pics.

Enjoy!











































I just recieved an awesome Amazon Blue Centipede (Scolopendra angulata explorans) today as well and I'll definitely be getting pics of that one soon! I snagged one as it was looking at it's habitat (posted below) but it's far from a quality picture. More pics of this guy to come!


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## plo (Apr 2, 2010)

Wow, if those spots were not so symmetrical, I'd say maybe battle wounds as they almost look like they match what I would think btie marks may look like. They are interresting none the less. BTW that Angulata Explorans is one wide pede, can't wait to see more of it. Thanks


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## peterbourbon (Apr 2, 2010)

Hey,

the blue one is most probably a plain simple _Ethmostigmus trigonopodus "blue ring leg"_ from Tanzania (or Kenia).

Who said it's a S. angulata explorans?
This subspecies hasn't been imported until yet and lives in Brazil.

Regards
Turgut


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## ragnew (Apr 2, 2010)

Thanks for the info guys!

As for blue pede actually being an S. angulata explorans, I'm hoping so. I purchased it from tarantulaspiders.com in the beginning of March when they had 5 of these guys show up, and thats the species they were thought to be.

All good if it's an Ethmostigmus too though, either way it's a great little pede! I'll get some better pics when the pede settles in a bit more. I guess we'll see.


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## zonbonzovi (Apr 2, 2010)

peterbourbon said:


> Hey,
> 
> the blue one is most probably a plain simple _Ethmostigmus trigonopodus "blue ring leg"_ from Tanzania (or Kenia).
> 
> ...


+1, I can just barely see orange on tergite 7 & 8, unless that's well placed coco fiber  ET's are beautiful, but i hope you didn't have to pay "rare" prices.

Those marks on the multidens are peculiar- the pattern suggests a bite mark from something with teeth on upper and lower jaw- small snake?  Has it ever molted in your care, Ragnew?


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## ragnew (Apr 2, 2010)

zonbonzovi said:


> +1, I can just barely see orange on tergite 7 & 8, unless that's well placed coco fiber  ET's are beautiful, but i hope you didn't have to pay "rare" prices.
> 
> Those marks on the multidens are peculiar- the pattern suggests a bite mark from something with teeth on upper and lower jaw- small snake?  Has it ever molted in your care, Ragnew?


Eh, it's all good if it does end up being an ET. I paid $75 for the pede, but mistaken identification seems to always be possible. So no worries. I'm pretty happy with the purchase either way haha. 

The multidens has molted at least once. When it arrived it had alot of damage on it's antennas. These have grown back near the top (you can actually see the regrowth if you look close enough). They (black dots) do look like battle scars though don't they!


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## EMWhite (Apr 3, 2010)

Hi!
As others have confirmed, the blue-leg is indeed an Ethmostigums. $75 is kinda steep for those, but, if you're happy whose to say it wasn't worth it! 

So, the black marks... And, while I cannot definitively say for sure, I can say I have seen something that looks the same. I have an S. heros az. that molted a while ago, and because of an error on my part, the enclosure was allowed to be too dry. Well, now that it has haredned up, (took several days, which is why I am assuming the lack of moisture had something to do with it) it has those exact black markings all up and down it's body. 

They are perfectly symmetrical, exactly the same on either side, and in the exact same location on each segment. My only thought was and is that its body couldn't harden up properly, and, as a result, pieces of its exoskeletal tissue dried too much and turned black along places where they took longer to harden. (Perhaps where there is more strain from internal musculature structures pulling on the internal surface of the exoskeleton?) 

I do not think it is something that is going to prove detremental to the pede, as it still eats with gusto and runs around like crazy, so I doubt it is something for you to worry about. 

I am not saying this is what has happened to yours, but, the markings here are identical to yours, only in greater numbers. (I guess you could think of it like paint on a rough surface. Where more paint pooled in grooves, it took longer to dry so it looks a little darker than where the paint was spread thin and dried more quickly... This is not scientific at all, it is my guess/explanation of what I saw.) 

It is very possible someone with more experience will come along and utterly disprove me...  But, as far as guessing goes, that's the best I could come up with. (I couldn't figure out with mine here how, if the black was a fungus etc, it would still be alive and acting perfectly fine...)

Hope this helped!



Evan


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## Galapoheros (Apr 3, 2010)

It looks to me that the pede rubbed it's head under a tight spot, a flat rock or something like that, maybe after a molt while still soft and maybe caused a little damage to the symmetrical high points in the area.  If anybody is seeing symmetrical dark areas on their pedes, prob just a little mycosis imo, or leftover injury from having mycosis in the past.


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## EMWhite (Apr 3, 2010)

Hi!
Hm, interesting idea. The heros here had mycosis on its legs, and none at all on its body trunk. When it molted, it was perfect. No black anywhere. Then, after day one, it still hadn't harded up quite right. Then day two, then day three for almost a week. Only towards the end of that did I start to see the symmectrical black dots. And the enclosure was, im my opinion, too dry for it to molt properly... So, I think, in my instance anyway, mycosis may not have been the case?? 

*ragnew: You said it molted once right after you got it. Did it have the black dots then too? Did they lessen, or change at all if so? Hmm... Interesting... I would think that an injury, or infection of some type would not appear so symmetrically perfect?? 



Evan


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## ragnew (Apr 3, 2010)

Thanks for all the info guys! So I think it's pretty certain that the new addition is more then likely an E. trig. Good to know.

As far as the S. multidens molting in my care, it has at least once that I know of. The black markings haven't gotten any worse or shown up anywhere else either. And when looking at the centipede overall there seems to be no sign of mycosis anywhere else.

I keep the substrate moist but not damp (usually add water to it once weekly). It could have been mycosis at one point, but shouldn't that have healed up by now?

Strange indeed!


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## EMWhite (Apr 3, 2010)

Hi!
The mycosis doesn't really heal. As many have said, it kind of just stops. Until the animal molts again it will remain. Think of it as scar tissue I suppose, it won't get worse, but it won't go away. (So long as the issues are addressed.) 

There should be little to NO chance of a subspinipes of this nature developing a mysicosis problem because it is on damp bedding. I would be willing to bet that even under near-sodden conditions they wouldn't develop it, at least not for a long long time. It generally also seems to start on the legs and work its way in, so that seems to be the place to first notice it. 


Evan


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## SAn (Apr 3, 2010)

multidens are best kept total dry. Thats according to my xp since i was keeping some and did experiment with conditions.


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## zonbonzovi (Apr 3, 2010)

I found this interesting:

"4  Leg 20 without tarsal spines; head plate with large punctures;
   coxopleural process with 3 terminal spines; first genital
   sternite without a pair of small genital appendages in males
                                            S. multidens Newport, 1844"

from here:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_7989/is_1_44/ai_n35684600/

Hopefully, I'm not recalling disinformation, but isn't multidens "typical" habitat in higher elevations then other subspinipes are found?


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## peterbourbon (Apr 3, 2010)

Hi,

the quoted publication should be handled with care.
I keep an adult S. multidens and there are no black dots on the cephalic plate.

"punctures" in centipede taxonomy means something different:
They appear like "engraved" pores on the cephalic plate. You can see those under a microscope. E.g. S. morsitans has a blank cephalic plate while some other species have "pores" of different variations.

I don't find a pic at the moment - but it is for sure that those "punctures" don't have something to do with pigmentation.

Regards
Turgut


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## SixShot666 (Apr 4, 2010)

Nice Pede you have there!!! :clap::clap::clap:
Correct me if I'm wrong here, but those 4 markings look like battle scars.


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## ragnew (Apr 4, 2010)

Hahaha, thanks SixShot666! It's a pretty cool pede all around! And quite aggro too lol. I agree, they do look like battle scars!

Thanks for all the info on the pedes guys! And thanks for clearing up the id on the E. trig.


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