Largest Centipede?

[CopperInMyVeins]

don't have the keys are at the office,... will look it up for ya and post them this weekend,... promise !

PS: total antennae segment count isn't that reliable as they can loose some when they get stuck etc...
amount of smooth basil antennea segments is more accurate tmo.

Yeah, I was thinking that, but since gigantea and virdicornis both have 17 total, and no more, something having 19 would have to be something else, unless extra segments can be added when they regenerate. Also, there is some amount of variation in the number of smooth basal segments, and total segments, even among the same species. Knowing the number would just make it easier to rule certain species out.

 

[Tarantula]

Scolopendra gigantea

These are said to be the largest one.. but there is some rumors (that is very hard to belive) that S. galapagoensis can reach 25".

 

[236260]

Twenty-five inches?! Wouldn't that be a find? Imagine how thick that would be. I swear, if the reports were reliable, I'd go hunt for one myself.

 

[crashergs]

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/about-us/news/2005/august/news_6293.html

whats the difference between

scolopendra gigantea

and

scolopendra gigantea robusta

?

 

[236260]

The article says it should live for decades.

Perhaps, he should leave it to his grandchildren.

 

[Steven]

Steven, since you have the keys, can you tell me what the antenna segment count on Scolopendra galapagoensis is? Is it 19 by any chance?

Scolopendra galapagoensis:
17 antennomeres *
first 4-7 antennomeres sparsely hirsute. **
mostly 4 or 5 *



references:
*Attems, C. G. von, 1930. Myriapoda 2. Scolopendromorpha. Das Tierreich, 54: 1-308
**Neotype designation and a diagnostic account for the centipede, Scolopendra gigantea L. 1758, with an account of S. galapagoensis Bollman 1889 (Chilopoda Scolopendromorpha Scolopendridae) - R.M. SHELLEY 1 and S.B. KISER 2 - Tropical Zoology 13: 159-170, 2000

 

[Stylopidae]

Twenty-five inches?! Wouldn't that be a find? Imagine how thick that would be. I swear, if the reports were reliable, I'd go hunt for one myself.

About two inches or so

Three maybe?

Massive pede, that's for sure

 

[Mister Internet]

whats the difference between

scolopendra gigantea

and

scolopendra gigantea robusta

The difference is that one is a genuine, scientifically-described species, and the second is a made-up, non-scientific name that a hobbyist once gave to a species of what he assumed was gigantea that simply looked another species that he though was a S. robusta... people assumed that the hobbyist was all but a centipede God because he printed a book on the subject, and the name has been (mis)used ever since. Scolopendra gigantea robusta is not a valid species name, has never been a valid species name, and should not be used as a species name designation. The best one could hope to do and still remain legitimate is Scolopendra "gigantea robusta", as there's not really been any proof that the red/yellow giant specimens are in fact gigantea at all...

Of course, if all you want is to sell it for a quick profit, why worry about the name?

 

[crashergs]

mister internet, you still on that whole selling factor?
i wouldnt worry about it, not like you would see a penny from the sellers profits.

by the way, ive been hearing about them only naming that type of species gigantea, so how are they going to name the reddish white legged species from the yellow legs?

 

[Thoth]

Here's a pic of Sc.gigantea from an OLD ad in For Sale section.

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showpost.php?p=562216&postcount=1

 

[Mister Internet]

mister internet, you still on that whole selling factor?
i wouldnt worry about it, not like you would see a penny from the sellers profits.

Let's just say the true hobbyists in this forum will have trouble taking you seriously for a while. We've seen more wanna be dealers burn out than I could possibly recall.

 

[Steven]

The best one could hope to do and still remain legitimate is Scolopendra "gigantea robusta", as there's not really been any proof that the red/yellow giant specimens are in fact gigantea at all...

The red yellow giants are tmo surely no gigantea,
for those who really are interested in ID-ying South American scolopendrids, keep your eyes open for the publication of R.Shelley on Central and South American scolopendrids to be published by ZooTaxa,... coming in august or september. ! Guess the "gigantea robusta" will surely be in their with his proper name.

so how are they going to name the reddish white legged species from the yellow legs?

mmmm,.. can ya direct me to a picture ? :?

 

[Spiderface]

cool i can't wait to read it

 

[236260]

I hope there is an announcement of the availability of the publication once it is released.

 

[8ball]

Damn that hercules centipede's big, I have a T blondi and a 23 foot Anaconda both from the amazon, and now I hear about this centipede it seem's like everything in the amazon's supersized lol.