Centipede?

[Francisco Villanueva]

Some time ago I caught this "centipede" and have been doing research to find out the species or if it even is a centipede at all. I have found basically nothing concerning this invert and am desperate to find out what it is since it just laid eggs. Any info helps. As of now, I only have pics of it with the eggs so it's not very clear. Hope this will do. I'll post more once the babies hatch. Things that I have found out about it is that it is rather slow, unlike a centipede. It has a soft and squishy body and it tends to cling on to anything it touches, almost as if it's legs were sticky.. It is dark colored as you can see and tends to curl up under the rock I put inside its terrarium. And by curl up, it basically makes itself into a little ball, same as it looks there as it's holding the eggs

 

[Salmonsaladsandwich]

Definitely looks like a geophilid centipede, though it is a slightly odd one. How big is it?

 

[Francisco Villanueva]

Definitely looks like a geophilid centipede, though it is a slightly odd one. How big is it?

I wouldn't be able to give you an accurate answer as I've had it for a short period of time and haven't measured it. Not to mention that it's always curled up too. If i could give a rough estimate though, I would say it's about 4-5 inches, maybe a little bigger.

 

[Danalemp1216]

Can you get a clear picture of it's head?

 

[schmiggle]

Definitely a centipede, I would say scolopendromorph based on size and egg guarding (geophilimorphs guard their eggs, but I've never heard of one four to five inches long, especially not that bulky). Either way, treat it like a centipede for now.

The only other thing I know of that it at all resembles is some kind of ragworm, and given that it is terrestrial and exhibits parental care, I think it must be a centipede.

 

[Salmonsaladsandwich]

Definitely a centipede, I would say scolopendromorph based on size and egg guarding (geophilimorphs guard their eggs, but I've never heard of one four to five inches long, especially not that bulky). Either way, treat it like a centipede for now.

The only other thing I know of that it at all resembles is some kind of ragworm, and given that it is terrestrial and exhibits parental care, I think it must be a centipede.

I wouldn't consider size to be a good indication of taxonomic affiliation. It certainly looks more like a geophilomorph.

 

[schmiggle]

I wouldn't consider size to be a good indication of taxonomic affiliation. It certainly looks more like a geophilomorph.

I agree in general; however, I thought the maximum size for geophilimorphs was in the 1-2" range, which this is way outside. It's also bulky for a geophilimorph. However, I agree that the legs and some other proportions match geophilimorph better. If it is a geophilimorph, I will have to reconsider my idea of the group.

@Francisco Villanueva where was this collected?

 

[myrmecophile]

Interesting critter.

 

[Francisco Villanueva]

Can you get a clear picture of it's head?

I keep this centipede in Mexico and only check in it on weekends. Although I might try to not check on it as much as I've heard centipede mothers tend to eat their babies if disturbed. Once it seems to crawl off and the babies hatch, I'll definitely upload more pics.

 

[Francisco Villanueva]

I agree in general; however, I thought the maximum size for geophilimorphs was in the 1-2" range, which this is way outside. It's also bulky for a geophilimorph. However, I agree that the legs and some other proportions match geophilimorph better. If it is a geophilimorph, I will have to reconsider my idea of the group.

@Francisco Villanueva where was this collected?

I collected this centipede in Mexico. Right below Texas. Matamoros, Mexico to be exact. I was lifting up some rocks to look for roaches to feed my also wild caught Tarantula and found this. I thought it was a millipede at first but with a closer look at it, it obviously wasn't. I collected it with as much care as I could and have been keeping it since

 

[Francisco Villanueva]

Could I get any info on what to feed it too. I have tried to feed it small roaches and mealworms, as well as even flies I caught since the others might have been too big. It seemed to show no interest however. I'm thinking it was because she was gravid and is now with her eggs. I do occasionally throw in small insects in her enclosure though, hoping it decides to eat.

 

[Lithobius]

If its a centipede, its a geophilomorph.
Scolopendromorphs only have 21-23 legs, so even if its "too big for a geophilomorph" (it isn't) it objectively can't be any sort of scolopendrid. Definitely not too bulky either, there are some chunky ones out there. The group is really poorly studied overall.

With its head hidden it just looks so much like a polychaete it's weirding me out a bit haha...

 

[Ajohnson5263]

This is an extremely interesting specimen! all i can say is try to keep it alive so we can see what the offspring look like. being that new inverts are discovered every year, maybe you have a brand new species! Also, it might be worth trying to feed earth worms. since it rejected all other common foods, perhaps it has a specialized diet?

 

[Galapoheros]

Yeah that looks really interesting. For a while, off and on for a few years, somebody on this forum would get in a geo sps. that I think was from S.A., they were about 7 inches long. They were very close to the color and look of that one you have. I never read of anybody having success trying to breed those big ones that were sold. I forgot who it was that was selling them.

 

[Danalemp1216]

The only other thing I know of that it at all resembles is some kind of ragworm

I don't know centipedes well, my first thought was a terrestrial polychaete worm, would love to see better pics on this

 

[schmiggle]

If its a centipede, its a geophilomorph.
Scolopendromorphs only have 21-23 legs, so even if its "too big for a geophilomorph" (it isn't) it objectively can't be any sort of scolopendrid. Definitely not too bulky either, there are some chunky ones out there. The group is really poorly studied overall.

I wouldn't consider size to be a good indication of taxonomic affiliation. It certainly looks more like a geophilomorph.

Well, I was very skeptical, but it looks enough like this picture, which is of a geophilomorph with a maximum length of 8", to make me think that this animal quacks like a geophilomorph and waddles like a geophilomorph.

"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

Now, though, I really want to know what this is. I've never seen anything like it. I don't think it's a polychaete because I haven't seen any terrestrial species that weren't olygochaetes. However, again, I could be wrong. I imagine any kind of ID will require pictures of the head.

One more question, @Francisco Villanueva: guesses on width?

 

[Lithobius]

There are terrestrial polychaetes, I found reference to these species: Hrabeiella periglandulata Pizl & Chalupský, 1984 and Parergodrilus heideri Reisinger, 1925. I haven't dug up the papers they're described in but I am definitely curious about them.

However it seems as though terrestrial polychaetes don't have parapodia according to the references I found, which means they'd look more like oligochaetes anyway. The legs in the picture look segmented rather than stumpy parapodia, which means the resemblance is just superficial.

 

[Ajohnson5263]

The more i look at it, the more i think it might be a polychaete. a clear picture of the head will settle the dispute, since their mouths do not resemble centipedes. You should also be able to tell by how moist the skin is, be wary though, since some are coated in neurotoxins. Also, do oligochaetes have parapodia? I though this was exclusive to polychaetes since it is too delicate for land.

 

[schmiggle]

Also, do oligochaetes have parapodia?

No. Also, oligochaetes lay eggs in egg cases that lie around.

I've never heard of any annelid that exhibits egg guarding behavior.

 

[Lithobius]

It's not. I strongly suspect the free end we see here is the tail.