# The South American Centipede Conundrum



## LawnShrimp (Oct 15, 2017)

Possibly some of the most famous centipedes in the hobby are the SA giant Scolopendra. For all their popularity, though, _gigantea, galapagoensis, _and _viridicornis_ remain among the most morph-rich species, although these morphs do not differ terribly greatly from one another. This has been the source of misinformation, misunderstandings, and general confusion for as long as these centipedes have been available in the hobby.

This is my own compilation of pictures of these species. I make no attempt to classify these species and so will just label them as what they are most commonly known as. This is not terribly scientific, just something I made so that myself and others could see all of the different morphs together.
*I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THESE PHOTOS, ALL RIGHTS GO TO OWNERS HERE ON ARACHNOBOARDS AND ELSEWHERE*.

*Scolopendra gigantea 'White Leg'
Scolopendra galapagoensis 'White Leg' (uncommon)*





Note the uniformly colored antennae and fairly thin terminals. It is claimed these come from Peru.

*Scolopendra gigantea 'Robusta'
Scolopendra virdicornis (unlikely)*





It has a similar pattern to 'White Leg', as well as the thin terminals, deep ridges on the edges of the body tergites, and uniformly colored antennae. I'd say this and White Leg are most closely related, perhaps the same species. I call them both collectively "Pale Gigs."

*Scolopendra galapagoensis 'Galapagos'*










This is likely the true galapagoensis as it is from the Galapagos islands. It may have its own color morphs as both of these are (definitely) from different island in the archipelago. It is not commonly sold. Note the thin terminals that resemble those of the Pale Gigs (a relationship between these is possible but unlikely).

*Scolopendra galapagoensis "Peru Dark Morph"
Scolopendra gigantea "Peru"*





This is the most commonly available centipede labeled as galapagoensis. Michael Dixon's famed Helga was this type. Note proportionately short and thin terminals and very large, thick head. It is definitely different from the gracile Pale Gigs.

*Scolopendra gigantea "Trinidad Dark Morph"*





Collected by @Neil TW in Trinidad. He has made his own, far more scientific key to these similar species. I will link below.

*Scolopendra gigantea "Venezuela"
Scolopendra galapagoensis "Venezuela"




*
This type appears to have very heavily pattered legs. The long, thin terminal legs also appear strangely bent outwards.

*Scolopendra viridicornis
Scolopendra viridicornis nigra*





Viridicornis has very fat terminals which are less heavily striped than the other dark, striped centipedes. It lives further south and does not get as large as the other species mentioned (or at least that's what I could find out).

*Oddities...
Scolopendra spinipriva?




*
To me, this looks more like viridicornis...

*Scolopendra spinipriva?*





...and this like "*Robusta"*, but note the thin and very short terminals. The anatomy here most looks like *"Peru Dark Morph"*.

*Scolopendra viridicornis*





Labeled as* viridicornis*, this most resembles the Pale Gigs due to the thin terminals. There is no ringfurrow on this one though, which makes me think it is not from SA at all.

*Scolopendra viridicornis*





It looks somewhat like *viridicornis*. Brazil.

*Good Resources:
http://arachnoboards.com/threads/no...gantea-complex-explained.290935/#post-2581766*


Okay, that's all I could find. If you don't want your pictures here, post and I'll remove them.
I repeat, *none of these pictures are mine.
*
If you have any pictures you'd like to post or any observations you want to make, feel free.

Reactions: Like 7 | Thanks 1 | Informative 4 | Helpful 1


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## Staehilomyces (Oct 15, 2017)

I think it's possible that the Island Galapagoensis was descended from Gigantea; after all, most Galapagos animals were descended from mainland animals.

Reactions: Like 3 | Agree 2


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## RTTB (Oct 16, 2017)

I found this thread to be very informative and useful.


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## Staehilomyces (Oct 16, 2017)

These may also be worth noting:

_S. viridicornis_:
_


_
Giant centipede from Aruba, sometimes labeled as _S. gigantea_:



Colombian giant centipede:

Reactions: Like 2


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## Staehilomyces (Oct 16, 2017)

Oh, and I think that the viridicornis you posted about not having a ring furrow was just in a different lighting. Here's one that looks exactly the same, and has a ring furrow (which I've highlighted).

Reactions: Like 2


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## LawnShrimp (Oct 16, 2017)

Thanks for the extra photos!

I say "White Leg" and "Robusta" go together, S. g. "Peru" has some relation to that mysterious pale S. spinipriva and possibly S. sp. 'Venezuela'. S. viridicornis is anything with fat, spiny terminals. Galapagoensis could be its own species or related to the mainland "Peru". The S. sp. "Colombia" coloration suggests "Robusta", but it is more likely part of the "Peru" complex or is its own species. Species could also be separated by geographical boundaries such as the Andes (which @Neil TW notes). The actually-ringfurrowed-pseudo-viridicornis looks like "Colombia".

I probably made a whole bunch of errors there. The only thing that makes it easier to tell differences is simply by having pictures next to one another.


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## CHLee (Oct 20, 2017)

LawnShrimp said:


> Thanks for the extra photos!
> 
> I say "White Leg" and "Robusta" go together, S. g. "Peru" has some relation to that mysterious pale S. spinipriva and possibly S. sp. 'Venezuela'. S. viridicornis is anything with fat, spiny terminals. Galapagoensis could be its own species or related to the mainland "Peru". The S. sp. "Colombia" coloration suggests "Robusta", but it is more likely part of the "Peru" complex or is its own species. Species could also be separated by geographical boundaries such as the Andes (which @Neil TW notes). The actually-ringfurrowed-pseudo-viridicornis looks like "Colombia".
> 
> I probably made a whole bunch of errors there. The only thing that makes it easier to tell differences is simply by having pictures next to one another.


white leg and "robusta" are different things, note the number of smooth antennae segments, the robusta and the peru dark form you labelled it are also receptive towards each other during mating, while the white leg are not.
S. g. trinidad and S. g. venezuela are the same thing imo, they can be differentiated from the peru with the uniform colored antennae, and darker color in general, peru dark galapagoensis have half red and half black antennae and the membrane on the side of the body (forgot the exact term) is more light/grey color. 
the sp colombia you labelled is most likely another form of gigantea, due to the number of smooth antennae segments, and are also found in venezuela and aruba.

Reactions: Like 1


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## CHLee (Oct 20, 2017)

LawnShrimp said:


> *Scolopendra viridicornis*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


this one does have a ringfurrow, its just right behind the headplate, ssp nigra from guyana

Reactions: Like 1


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## Staehilomyces (Oct 20, 2017)

Yeah, I already posted a pic of one with a visible furrow.


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## CHLee (Oct 20, 2017)

Staehilomyces said:


> Yeah, I already posted a pic of one with a visible furrow.


whoops i missed that


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## Mastigoproctus (Oct 20, 2017)

Ok so lets clear this up, galapo and robusta are very close, but nothing like the Trinidad specimens. They react when attemped to mate though no cross has been accomplised. Trinidad and white leg dont react well to them and thr mating process is a tad different to my knowledge. Trinidad specimens can be feisty while the rest are pretty docile. Black gigantea are similar to main land specimens in a shore line national park facing Trinidad island (forgot the name atm, maybe Lee can chime in) but they havent made it into the hobby. This information is misleading, be aware people, I dont comment much these days as I'm sure everyon knows so take it as you will.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Mastigoproctus (Oct 20, 2017)

Btw true viridicornis are not what trap and his EU friends sell, they are excessively hard to come by.


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## Mastigoproctus (Oct 20, 2017)

Scolopendra galapagoensis white form, no one posted this.


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## Staehilomyces (Oct 20, 2017)

You're back!!!

Reactions: Like 2 | Funny 1


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## LawnShrimp (Oct 21, 2017)

Staehilomyces said:


> You're back!!!


He's back. On IG too. That Malaysian Jewel is quite something.


Mastigoproctus said:


> Ok so lets clear this up, galapo and robusta are very close, but nothing like the Trinidad specimens. They react when attemped to mate though no cross has been accomplised. Trinidad and white leg dont react well to them and thr mating process is a tad different to my knowledge. Trinidad specimens can be feisty while the rest are pretty docile. Black gigantea are similar to main land specimens in a shore line national park facing Trinidad island (forgot the name atm, maybe Lee can chime in) but they havent made it into the hobby. _This information is misleading, be aware people, I dont comment much these days as I'm sure everyon knows so take it as you will._


 [italics mine] Sorry if I wrote something wrong! I'm no scientist and I don't own any SA centipedes. I just wanted a gallery of each morph/species so that better informed people than I could make their own judgement (as you did) about the relationships between these species. 

Thank you for picture of the pale galapo. It seems every morph has its own morph, and as the taxonomy gets more confusing, the centipedes get prettier...

Reactions: Like 1


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## micheldied (Oct 24, 2017)

There's a lot wrong with the original post. No one calls S. viridicornis viridicornis "nigra", nigra is reserved for the darker subspecies which you just called Scolopendra viridicornis. All viridicornis display short stubby terminal legs, and a median keel that is tall and thick and does not fade much with age. The animals from Peru all have a median keel, but this fades to varying degrees as they grow. The orange striped one from Peru displays a median keel to adulthood, and even though it is thin and low, many people of a certain race insist it is viridicornis.

The "robusta" is what people in the hobby are calling viridicornis, even though they are from Peru and are not at all like viridicornis from the other side of the country where they were described. Robusta, in the hobby, is usually reserved for the larger, more blande looking one that you're calling spiniprava (second "spiniprava"). The terminals are not short, it's just the angle of the picture. There are two colorforms of "robusta" in the hobby, a darker one with very slight patterning and a lighter one that is very blande looking. These two morphs will mate and breed.

Anyone who has had white legs know that they look very different in build from anything else from Peru. They likely aren't gigantea at all, but they are not the same as anything else coming out of Peru.

The dark morph galapagoensis can be found on the coast of the mainland, and on the islands as well. The red leg galapagoensis is found on a few islands. These are likely closely related.

The brown gigantea from Aruba, Venezuala and Colombia are very similar in build to the black gigantea from Trinidad, and are likely variations of the same species. These have thicker terminals than anything from Peru, but not short like viridicornis.

Terminal leg spines on the SA giants are random in number and formation, and probably shouldn't be used for identifying them. They differ from individual to individual, and even the same specimen can have different spines on each leg. The most consistent identifying key seems to be the number of smooth segments on the antennae, as well as the number and formation of teeth on the tooth plates.

Reactions: Like 1 | Helpful 1


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## CHLee (Oct 24, 2017)

Also to add
For Peru
white leg-7-9 smooth antennae segments
peru galapagoensis 6 smooth antennae segments
"robusta" light form 6 smooth
"dark robusta" what the hobby calls viricornis now-5 smooth segments
viridicornis and nigra from brazil and guyana have 4 smooth segments
brown gigantea from venezuela and colombia have 8-9
black gigantea from trinidad and venezuela have 8-9 

i've had multiple specimens of each of the peru big 4 and the antennae segments seems to be constant, while the spines on the terminal legs as micheldied said are variable even on the same specimen, left and right legs have different numbers or patterns.

Reactions: Like 1


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## LawnShrimp (Oct 24, 2017)

@micheldied You're right about terminal leg spines; they are unreliable methods for determining species.


Guess I opened the wrong can of centipedes. Sorry, friends, but I really had no idea what I was doing! Thanks for the helpful criticism of my original post. I was just using the names I found these pictures labeled as and my best judgement (which is not the best judgement) to determine species. I shouldn't have bothered with this thread.


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## emplosion (Oct 24, 2017)

These are all very interesting observations. Is there any particular reason pedes don't seem to be as studied as other inverts.


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## LawnShrimp (Oct 25, 2017)

emplosion said:


> These are all very interesting observations. Is there any particular reason pedes don't seem to be as studied as other inverts.


Well, the majority of the population is too busy with killing or running away from them, and the few scientists who work with venomous animals tend to specialize in scorpions, spider, or snakes. Even entomologists prefer specializing in insects and arachnids to myriapods, as those much more diverse groups have a greater overall use in today's society. However, recent studies of venom peptides from _Scolopendra_ have proved to be painkillers or possible cancer drugs. But even then, taxonomy is not the main goal.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## TreebeardGoddess (Oct 25, 2017)

That makes me incredibly sad.


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## LeFanDesBugs (Oct 26, 2017)

@LawnShrimp that's exactly who I want to become! This really is my dream job.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## micheldied (Oct 29, 2017)

emplosion said:


> These are all very interesting observations. Is there any particular reason pedes don't seem to be as studied as other inverts.


Because they don't affect people negatively or positively, for the most part. And unlike Ts, they aren't popular pets.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Nich (Nov 5, 2017)

I more than appreciate this thread as we need more like it in my opinion, just need some departure from even mentioning color and patterns. "Looks off to the east...STEVEN where you at?"


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## Celestus (Oct 9, 2018)

Old thread but I will add that there is a Scolopendra on Isla Santa Cruz that looks just like a robusta; I did not have any time to examine it closely while I was there unfortunately.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Pinchednerve (Jul 11, 2019)

very informative thank you


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## Colby1100 (Mar 31, 2020)

Staehilomyces said:


> Oh, and I think that the viridicornis you posted about not having a ring furrow was just in a different lighting. Here's one that looks exactly the same, and has a ring furrow (which I've highlighted).


Hi, I was just wondering what exactly is a ring furrow?


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## Quetzalcoatl Nyarlathotep (Apr 18, 2020)

We should call these "Scolopendra Imperator" to mess with the scorpion people.

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Colby1100 (Apr 20, 2020)

Geb Arachnia Whitney said:


> View attachment 340810
> 
> We should call these "Scolopendra Imperator" to mess with the scorpion people.


Is this S. Viridicornus?


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## Quetzalcoatl Nyarlathotep (Apr 20, 2020)

Colby1100 said:


> Is this S. Viridicornus?


Galapagoensis "Robusta", imported as viridicornis


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## Colby1100 (Apr 20, 2020)

I just got a S. Galapagoensis/Viridicornus a few week back.  This is what she looks like.  She ate right when i got her but lately she hasnt been eating for the last 10 days or so....kinda making me a little nervous


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## Quetzalcoatl Nyarlathotep (Apr 20, 2020)

Colby1100 said:


> I just got a S. Galapagoensis/Viridicornus a few week back.  This is what she looks like.  She ate right when i got her but lately she hasnt been eating for the last 10 days or so....kinda making me a little nervous


It's likely in premolt. Did you get her from Nyan? He said they would enter premolt soon.


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## Colby1100 (Apr 21, 2020)

Yeah I did.  Shes about 2.75 inches right now


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## NYAN (Apr 22, 2020)

Colby1100 said:


> Yeah I did.  Shes about 2.75 inches right now


It’ll molt soon. It’s very fat.


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## Colby1100 (Apr 23, 2020)

How will I know if she molted? Ive heard centipedes eat their old exoskeleton?


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## REEFSPIDER (Apr 24, 2020)

Colby1100 said:


> How will I know if she molted? Ive heard centipedes eat their old exoskeleton?


The pede will be brightly colored and larger than it was


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## Colby1100 (May 10, 2020)

Its been over two weeks and she still hasnt molted or fed.... Im starting to get worried.  Shes still active and looks alright but everytime I put a cricket or wax/butterworm in her enclosure, as soon she feels it touch her she immediately runs away.  Anyway, I took this pic of her today when i picked up her hiding spot

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## NYAN (May 10, 2020)

Colby1100 said:


> Its been over two weeks and she still hasnt molted or fed.... Im starting to get worried.  Shes still active and looks alright but everytime I put a cricket or wax/butterworm in her enclosure, as soon she feels it touch her she immediately runs away.  Anyway, I took this pic of her today when i picked up her hiding spot


That pede is overweight. It isn’t eating because of this. It will eventually molt, but it needs to be left alone.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Comatose (Feb 8, 2021)

LawnShrimp said:


> *Scolopendra galapagoensis 'Galapagos'*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Pardon my resurrection of this amazing thread. This is one of the, if not the most fascinating question in Scolopendra. The assumption that this is “the real galapagoensis” isn’t entirely unfounded, since it apparently only appears on that archipelago (and maybe Cocos island of Costa Rica) but there’s nothing about Bollman’s original account that points to this animal more than the one we know as galapagoensis.

I’m unclear if any further examination or observation has taken place since then (most of the galaps in modern literature were collected on the mainland), and aside from referring to this as the “Galapagos Red Foot Centipede”, there’s no real public acknowledgement that it even exists.

My personal take is that this probably is a variant of galapagoensis. Both forms occur on their namesake islands, there appears to be some variability between them (ie, animals that appear to share traits of each), but the observable characteristics leave some questions to be asked:

1. Antenna segments seem to agree with galapagoensis. From most of the pictures I see there are 7 smooth segments, with hirsute segments turning red or orange.

2. Tergite margination appears to agree with galapagoensis, as does coloration of the pleural region.

3. Despite this, as the author above pointed out, the terminal legs appear closer to gigantea or white legs. In fact, the terminal segment does as well.

4. Perhaps most importantly, the terminal segment also seems to feature a small median keel, something galapagoensis does not have.

This perhaps leaves more questions than answers, but there’s still plenty of material out there for hobbyists to review. For example, the arrangement of spines on legs 16-21 can be fairly easily viewed via images online. Sadly I don’t think there are any pictures out there or tooth plates or clear views of sternites, but maybe I just haven’t looked hard enough.

Anyway, my Monday morning take.

Reactions: Like 3


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## HunterScolo (Mar 16, 2022)

I would love some input on what the correct hobby name for this pedeling is!

Reactions: Thinking 1


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## HeartBum (Mar 18, 2022)

HunterScolo said:


> I would love some input on what the correct hobby name for this pedeling is!


Eh... I tried to be smart and find out for you, with zero knowledge of them. I've learnt very quickly that identifying them is VERY without having pictures of literally every species ever in front of you  I hope someone can help!


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## Kidscolo (Mar 18, 2022)

For me looks like a S. Galapagoensis . But no Expert

Reactions: Agree 1


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