East African Yellow Leg Centipede pic

[Henry Kane]

Here's one I haven't ever seen before. I received it with the Vanuatu pedes.
Anyhow, I'm really digging this one. I love it's colors.

Atrax

 

[Henry Kane]

One more real quick.

 

[skolopender]

Hi Atrax,

accdg to the pics it exactely looks like my S. morsitans yellow legged which i received from Sören Rafn and my morsitans is also origined from Eastern Africa (Tanzania)....

 

[Henry Kane]

Hi Scol. That thought crossed my mind and I cartainly wouldn't rule out any possibility that is may be morsitans. The reason I'm not sure is because of it's size. I wasn't aware that S. morsitans could get that big. I'm not in a position to say for sure. How big is your yellow leg S. morsitans?

Atrax

 

[skolopender]

Hmm - in comparison to the 5-Dollar-note i think your's is as big as mine and i hv definately a subadult one. Accdg to Sören the morsitans should become a lenght of 15-16cms (nearly 6 inches)!

Hope, this helps.

 

[Henry Kane]

Cool. To be perfectly honest, I was never even aware of a Yellow Leg morsitans before reading your earlier post. What you're saying makes sense. Do you know what (anatomically) seperates morsitans from subspinipes?

Atrax

 

[MrDeranged]

Different number of articles in the antennae and different number and layout of spines on the terminal legs. I believe there may be other differences, but that's what I remember offhand....

Scott

 

[Henry Kane]

Hmmm. That's what I thought. I wonder from whom I can find out the article count from.

Atrax

 

[Mister Internet]

i've got Carl Sandefer's book at home... I'll post it in a little bit when I get back if you want...

 

[Henry Kane]

Hi M.I..
I'd be very greatful if you wouldn't mind doing so. I really need to get off my tail and get that book. There's a local shop here in town that carries it and they have it marked at 29.99! I had to look away, rub my eyes and look again! What a joke!
I think I'll just order it from John Hoke.

Anyhow, thanks a ton.

Atrax

 

[Mister Internet]

From Sandefer:

Morsitans: Antennae have 17 to 23 articles, usually 19 or 20, with six or seven smooth. Tergites with paramedian sulci starting at the second or third. Sternites 2 through 20 with two sulci. Legs 1 to 19 with one tarsal spine.

Subspinipes: No ring furrow on first tergite. Antennae have 18 to 19 articles with six basal segments smooth. Three spines located on prefemur of terminal legs.

[Edited for grammar, punctuation, and spelling]

 

[Henry Kane]

Excellent. Thanks a bunch! I'm counting 18 or 19 articles and it looks like 5 spines on each inner terminal leg and 2 on the outside of the terminal leg. I think my best bet for right now is to get some more pics from different angles to get a better count.

Thanks a bunch!


Atrax

 

[invertepet]

More pics of what my suppliers refer to as 'Tanzanian Yellow Legged'...

 

[invertepet]

Head detail:

 

[invertepet]

Also, note the red waxy-oozing glands on the sides. This could well be one of those species that secretes an irritating coating on their legs and then pierces the skin to deliver the substance, as a kind of 'extra' toxin attack (that's if the main venom-delivering ones don't get you first).

This species is definitely aggro, but not spastic like some Scolopendra I've dealt with. Less likely to leap and attack, but this one did lovingly clutch and gnaw on my forceps for a while.



bill

 

[Alonso99]

how big are those Bill??

 

[aftershock]

Invertetpet>>>That one is identic to my morsitans. Mine has yellowlegs and the same colors and is about 6 inches long. It eats like a horse and attacks anything that moves. It doesn't have any rings on the legs either.

So it might not be a morsitans?

 

[invertepet]

The ones I've had averaged about 5-6" but they're a bit on the thick/wide side, so I suspect they can attain pretty formidable sizes.

AS, if you got a centipede that looks like this and they said it was morsitans, I would bet it's not moristans.

bill