Chriscrass
Arachnopeon
- Joined
- Dec 4, 2020
- Messages
- 4
Are amphibious centipedes a feasible objective within the centipede-keeping hobby?
As far as I know, they're relatively new to science, or otherwise under-described, and there are only two major species that are confirmed to have amphibious/aquatic behaviour.
The first being Scolopendra Cataracta:
(wiki)
The second being Scolopendra Paradoxa
Apparently the Paradoxa have variants going by the names "Philippine Mint-Leg Centipede / Philippine Orange-banded Blue Leg Centipede"
Philippine Mint-Leg Centipede
I'm also not quite sure, but "Subspines sp chinese mint leg" might be highly similar. This thread shows sp's that look eerily similar to paradoxa (except for the reverse colour direction):
https://arachnoboards.com/threads/scolopedra-sp-mint-leg-communal.303172/
(note the long legs that are typical of cataracta and paradoxa; useful for swimming and underwater crawling). (I think that having shorter legs is more typical of terrestrial centipedes because shorter legs can have better leverage (more power) and break less easily).
Is it possible that chinese mint legs have aquatic behaviours which we don't even realize? Is there some ambiguity in the taxonomy here? (I have seen some random and questionable sources indicate that sp's are somehow amphibious).
I can't really find much footage or information about cataracta or paradoxa. I'm not even sure if anyone is keeping (let alone breeding?) them yet, or if keeping them would be feasible given their lifestyles. Do they only go underwater to hide? Is there any evidence of underwater scavenging or predation?
I'm also interested to know what kind of setup it would take to have a combined terrarium/aquarium (paludarium?) which would be capable of offering a centipede interesting aquatic environments.
As far as I know, they're relatively new to science, or otherwise under-described, and there are only two major species that are confirmed to have amphibious/aquatic behaviour.
The first being Scolopendra Cataracta:
(wiki)
The second being Scolopendra Paradoxa
Apparently the Paradoxa have variants going by the names "Philippine Mint-Leg Centipede / Philippine Orange-banded Blue Leg Centipede"
Philippine Mint-Leg Centipede
I'm also not quite sure, but "Subspines sp chinese mint leg" might be highly similar. This thread shows sp's that look eerily similar to paradoxa (except for the reverse colour direction):
https://arachnoboards.com/threads/scolopedra-sp-mint-leg-communal.303172/
(note the long legs that are typical of cataracta and paradoxa; useful for swimming and underwater crawling). (I think that having shorter legs is more typical of terrestrial centipedes because shorter legs can have better leverage (more power) and break less easily).
Is it possible that chinese mint legs have aquatic behaviours which we don't even realize? Is there some ambiguity in the taxonomy here? (I have seen some random and questionable sources indicate that sp's are somehow amphibious).
I can't really find much footage or information about cataracta or paradoxa. I'm not even sure if anyone is keeping (let alone breeding?) them yet, or if keeping them would be feasible given their lifestyles. Do they only go underwater to hide? Is there any evidence of underwater scavenging or predation?
I'm also interested to know what kind of setup it would take to have a combined terrarium/aquarium (paludarium?) which would be capable of offering a centipede interesting aquatic environments.
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