mutilans size

dannyboypede

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Aug 22, 2010
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hello arachnoreaders,
I am confused and am looking for some answers here. I have read so many different things concerning the max size of scolopendra subspinipes mutilans. I read one place that they get to 4 inches in length. Another place i read they get 10 inches. It would be really nice if anyone had a clear answer to the question: how big do mutilans get? I am looking for first hand accounts of body length, not including antennae or terminators (as caco calls them).

My mutilans is about 4.5 inches, which throws out the claim that they only get 4 inches in length.

Thanks in advance,
Dan
 

KyuZo

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depending on the locality of the animal, usually 6"-7" is what you're gonna get.
 

dannyboypede

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Alright. Thanks. I wish mine would stop hiding. They are so cool, but it always burrows! oh well. It would also be cool if they could reach 10 inches{D!! If anyone wants to post some pictures with their specimen next to a ruler, that would be nice. I just think this species, as boring as it is, is so cool looking.

--Dan
 

KyuZo

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check it out before i take it off
 
Last edited:

dannyboypede

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Ooooooo! That's like almost 8 inches. I guess there is a reason why they are called giant centipedes!:D
--Dan
 

KyuZo

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that is 8", but like i said before, it depends on the locality of where they are collected. some mutilans are communal while some are not, some get huge, while others stay around 6"-7"
 

Canth

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that is 8", but like i said before, it depends on the locality of where they are collected. some mutilans are communal while some are not, some get huge, while others stay around 6"-7"
I didn't realize there was so much variation. How can you tell if they're communal or not?
 

dannyboypede

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I didn't realize there was so much variation. How can you tell if they're communal or not?
I would guess that if they start eating each other then they aren't communal{D;)! I wonder if you mated this species and kept all of the plings together for their entire lives if they would be communal, or if it would still depend on the locality. I doubt locality would still be a factor if they were all captive bred.

--Dan
 

Canth

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I would guess that if they start eating each other then they aren't communal{D;)! I wonder if you mated this species and kept all of the plings together for their entire lives if they would be communal, or if it would still depend on the locality. I doubt locality would still be a factor if they were all captive bred.

--Dan
Thanks...but I meant before they eat each other. And I would think locality would still have some factor.
 

dannyboypede

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Thanks...but I meant before they eat each other. And I would think locality would still have some factor.
I figured that's what you meant. I think there isn't a way to tell if they are communal before they start eating each other. Is it possible that communality is an individual factor? It seems pretty likely that if you got a big tank and put a bunch of CB plings from the same mother in there, they would begin to tolerate each other. If locality was still a factor, would that not mean that there are some other subspecies from different places? It seems that living conditions and specie instincts would be the contributing factors to whether or not an individual is communal. So either mutilans are not communal, and locality/living conditions from that place positively affect how they behave with each other, or... mutilans are communal, and locality/living conditions negatively affect how they behave with each other. Food supply is most likely another important factor.

--Dan
 

cacoseraph

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i would suspect the farmed ones are communal and the WC ones are not. roughly.
 

micheldied

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i would suspect the farmed ones are communal and the WC ones are not. roughly.
WC are communal.
Many aquarium shops have mutilans for sale, all kept together.
Most are caught in China.
That is not to say they never have losses, of course.

Mutilans usually get no bigger than 6 inches, but there are of course the giants.
Mine is exceeding 6 inches now.
However, I've had several dozen Mutilans and rarely seen any above 6 inches.
 
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