There's a Scolopendra from southern Japan that I'm interested in getting, but am not completely sure of the variety. In Japanese they're referred to as mukade, but that's just a general term for centipedes. I've seen it listed as a subspecies of Scolopendra subspinipes, possibly S. s. japonica. Anyone know if they are available in the hobby? Or know how they compare to other S. subspinipes?
Japanese Centipede
- Thread starter Bill S
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Actually, there was a recent re-classification of the species Scolopendra subspinipes, and many of its subspecies, including the Japanese variety, have been classified as separate species. Therefore, the species you're after would be Scolopendra japonica. As for availability; I've never seen one for sale in the States; they seem to be much more prevalent in Europe. Also, I feel like I heard someone say once that they were a bit more docile and considerably smaller than you're standard subspinipes, but that could just be speculation.
Thanks. I have heard they are smaller than subspinipes, and I've seen pictures of someone letting a freshly caught one crawl on their hand, so the "bit more docile" sounds true. Too bad they don't appear in the U.S. hobby market. Besides my interest in centipedes, I've also got an interest in things Japanese, especially in Japanese history. The mukade appeared on battle flags and sashimono of warlords such as Takeda Shingen, and I thought it would be fun to keep a few of these as pets. (I'm considering using the mukade emblem on the curtain on the target house of my kyudo dojo. It seems appropriate given that we often find Scolopendra heros and Scolopendra polymorpha here.)
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Arachnosquire
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I have one of the centipedes I think you're referring to. :biggrin: It's named Scolopendra s. japonica. You won't be able to find one available in the U.S. hobby but I know of a dealer in the UK who sometimes has them available. 
You can contact him at martingoss.uk. I need to point out that Mr. Goss did not provide me with my Japonica. That might violate Customs regulations. :laugh:
Also, when communicating with the Brits end your email with "Cheers" or you might not get a response.:sarcasm:
You can contact him at martingoss.uk. I need to point out that Mr. Goss did not provide me with my Japonica. That might violate Customs regulations. :laugh: Also, when communicating with the Brits end your email with "Cheers" or you might not get a response.:sarcasm:
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I have one of the centipedes I think you're referring to. :biggrin: It's named Scolopendra s. japonica. You won't be able to find one available in the U.S. hobby but I know of a dealer in the UK who sometimes has them available.
Also, when communicating with the Brits end your email with "Cheers" or you might not get a response.:sarcasm:
Nice way to say you brown box and illegally import animals.
also nice way to call out your supplier
Thanks for the info. It's good to know that someone out there is breeding them - even if it's in Europe. I don't want to go through the hassle of importing for just one or two centipedes, but I know one or two people who do import, and maybe I can get them to bring in some of these.
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Arachnosquire
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Just make sure the people who import for you don't price gouge. A while back when I was looking to purchase some S. hardwickei, a well-known and liked U.S. dealer wanted to charge me $450 each for a M/F pair. That didn't include shipping. As far as I know, the USFW only requires you to have an import license when the animals you're bringing in are for resale. In other words, if you're a dealer and not someone who simply wants them for personal ownership or educational/scientific purposes. Just make sure the species isn't banned. Like, for some reason, importation of stick insects is banned. The government doesn't ban any species of centipede, however. Not yet, anyway.
Back some time ago I used to import plants once in a while - same sort of game there. Agriculture issues on some species, CITES issues on some others, so you have to know which paperwork to file. As with arachnids, there's the common misunderstanding among people that ALL import is illegal, but as you already know, that's not generally the case. I'm just a hobbyist, not a dealer, so the commercial aspect doesn't apply to me. However, the cost of shipping is high enough that it's not generally feasible to import just a couple specimens. That's why I had hoped to find a dealer here who imports from Europe (or from Japan) and could include a couple specimens of this as part of a larger order. If all else fails, I may be making a trip to Europe in the future, or might even return to Japan at some point in the more distant future. I might find a way to bring back something on such a trip.
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Arachnosquire
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Yeah the cost of shipping from Europe to the States is high enough that unless you're spending a few hundred on the animals the shipping costs outweigh the overall value of the animal(s). Recently, I bought two S. galapagoensis from a dealer in Germany and DHL charged around $90 for next day delivery, and surprisingly the parcel arrived exactly 30 hours after he mailed it. I filmed myself opening the box so I would have proof in the event of a DOA. In fact, I film every new arrival now and upload it to YouTube. If you do decide to go with using a U.S. dealer as a middleman make sure you research their business reputation before sending them any money. There's one dealer in particular (located in Sarasota, FL) who's notorious for scamming centipede enthusiasts. A few days ago, I wrote another thread about him on Fauna's Insect/Arachnid BOI under the username jacuoco88. So be careful and good luck to you. Cheers.