Scolopendra galapagoensis

Cooper · Jul 5, 2003

Very good point, but still.......

David Cooper

Mister Internet · Jul 5, 2003

Originally posted by gongyles
Then again i looked at his leggs and they seem to be banded, if it's correct that the galapagoenis is a other name for Scolopendra gigantea robusta, i've never seen a gigantea species that has banded leggs, can someone clear this one out :? :? :?

Again, there's no such species as Scolopendra gigantea robusta... the pede in the pic looks more like an S. viridicornis, but I've recently become almost apathetic about identification through coloring and markings. It's hard to know what it is for sure...

That 25" pede business is B.S. as far as I'm concerned... considering the source, I'm leery of any "inside information" claimed to be had.

Mister Internet · Jul 5, 2003

Originally posted by Cooper
Very good point, but still.......

David Cooper

Well, you're talking to people who have been around for awhile... just saying "but still" a bunch of times doesn't make this scenario any more believable. Just because some guy says some scientist told him he has heard of a 25" centipede doesn't make much more than a pipe dream. A picture or at least a name would have gone a long way, but I wrote that claim off a long time ago.

Cooper · Jul 5, 2003

Okay, Okay. You win. Their goes the thought of one day seeing a two foot pede. I think that the inches/centimetres mixup was probably what happened. Sorry for causing such an interesting debate.

David Cooper

ChoJinn · Jul 6, 2003

whoa whoa whoa

Has anybone been to the Montreal Insectarium? I was under the impression that they had a preserved speciamen that was almost 30" long. On top of that, the man from whom I bought my Peruvian (now alomst 14" long thank you very much :} ) told me that had once owned a pure venezuelan (not a trinidad brown, or an amazon basin red) pede that was 22" long. Apparently this thing was legendary, because almost every exotic pet store worker in my area (SE lower michigan) knew about it and had some story concerning it.

i am not in any way saying these things are common or likely to be found, but if people have specimens that are 14, 15, or 18" long - whats the big deal if SOMEWHERE out in the jungle there exists an oversized version of the species?

adam

Steven · Jul 6, 2003

Does anybody know if centipedes like milipedes grow their whole life?, i mean they keep on growing till they die.
maybe it's possible that the're some giants out there,... who knows?

Bob the thief · Jul 6, 2003

There are some theorys that some cold blooded animals can live forever....
if they grew forever..

Frank · Jul 6, 2003

I don't remember seeing a 30" preserved specimen of a centipede at the insectarium of Montreal. I went there this winter, they had one living centi but I do not remember seeing a big one.. and I don't think I'll go to the insectarium soonly (its always the same thing.. why would I pay again for that, one time every 10 years is fine).

Frank

Cooper · Jul 6, 2003

Finally some peple are starting to see my side, if they do grow till they die, what is stopping some from living a bit longer and growing bigger? f someone could prove that there is a 30" specimen at the bug museum, that would be great. There is always some freaky things in species that are different, like that tarantula with two abdomens or that guy that was like 9 feet tall. Whos to say that their couldn't be some freaky mutant giant centipede?

Just some points for discussion

David Cooper

Frank · Jul 6, 2003

Ok ok, pay me the entry ticket and the cost for me to get there and I'll go and take pictures if I see it

(and maybe I'll get the chance to handle a stick-insect again

)

Frank

Mister Internet · Jul 6, 2003

Whatever, I guess that's what I get for trying to inject a little healthy skepticism into a raging daydream.

Sorry, but I have never heard of anything larger than a 16" specimen of S. gigantea... of course, there's nothing saying that one that's a couple inches longer couldn't be found. I don't think it's unfair to demand proof of something that's reportedly a full 7" longer that even the extra couple of inches I'm willing to believe. Just because someone says someone has somewhere seen a 25" specimen, I'm supposed to believe them without proof? Even if such a pede were to exist, I'm sure it would be a freak specimen, and not the norm for galapagoensis.

Of course, this is probably just me being a party pooper...

Also, I have no idea what a "pure Venezuelan" pede is supposed to be... was there ever a scientific name associated with it, or at least a picture? While I highly doubt it, I'm open to additional info...

Phillip · Jul 6, 2003

Yeah Tom...

You party pooper you. lol

Phil

Poecilotheria · Jul 7, 2003

Dosen't S. viridicornis have yellow legs? Or am I thinking of something different?
Steve

ChoJinn · Jul 7, 2003

i guess i just had nothing else to call it - the pure venezuelan that is. The store where I got my gigantea from used to get shipments of them in occasionally in the early 90's. Unfortunately i have never seen a specimen since. Most of the one's they had were all about 8-10" long, and they were all jet black with dark red/purple legs. Black body, black head, black antennae, and red legs -- i havent even seen a picture of them online.

they stopped getting them once venezuela closed to export

so yeah I never saw the actual specimen, but I did see smaller versions - just wish they were still around

Jive · Jul 20, 2003

Well now..

You know.. I joined this forum because of this thread. I don't own any centipedes, personally I'd rather appreciate them from afar, preferrably very far. I do think they're fascinating, lovely creatures, so I went digging.

http://216.239.53.104/search?q=cache:hXefKcFoFvEJ:www.unep-wcmc.org/latenews/emergency/galapagos_2001/casestudy.doc+Scolopendra+galapagoensis&hl=en&ie=UTF-8http://216.239.53.104/search?q=cache:hXefKcFoFvEJ:www.unep-wcmc.org/latenews/emergency/galapagos_2001/casestudy.doc+Scolopendra+galapagoensis&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 This is a link to a PDF viewed as HTML that I found while digging around Google. Why yes, you do have to copy and paste.

Here's a paragraph pulled from the study just about the 'pede:

The insect fauna of the islands is also very poor in variety, but includes endemic species such as the scorpion, Centururoides exsul which is found in arid zones on Santa Cruz, San Cristóbal, Pinta, Española and Floreana. An endemic centipede, Scolopendra galapagensis, also inhabiting the arid zones of most islands is infamous as the most feared Gálapagos animal on account of the strong venom it uses to capture prey, which is also painful to humans.

So it mentions it's damned mean. But 25 inches looong? You decide.

From the Berkely Digital Library Project (http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=126359&one=T):

(Taken at la Galapaquera(San Cristobal Island, Galapagos, Ecuador)

Sounds like it may think it's 25 inches long.

Even if there was a 'pede that big, would you really want to be around it? I mean, it's got to eat -something-..

Perhaps your neck?

(No, no. It's a fake one.

)

Steven · Feb 8, 2004

sorry for bringing up an old topic,....

but this galapagoensis specie has been on my mind for quite some time,....

i've just read something about the galapagoensis specie in a book,...not online (sorry)

galapagoensis (1800 S.G.Bollman)
lenght: 16cm !!!!!!!!

(that's quite far from 25"

)
color: darkbrown to yellow at the end.
antenna: 17 articles with 4 smooth
prefumur at last leggs: 5 spines

to my opinion al those pictures of so called monstrous galapagoensis are just large viridicornis subspecies,.... :?

this is just my personal view on the subject,...
someone agree or totally disagree with what i've noticed ????

scarypoppins · Feb 8, 2004

i have been sercging for the galopagonisis for about 3 years and have come to one conclution !!!!!!GIVE UP!!!!! ITS IMPOSOBLE TO FIND BUT I HAVE SEEN ONE THER IS A MUSEUM CURATOR OUT IN OREGON THAT SOMEHOW GOT ONE MISS SENT TO HIM FROM A GEOLOGICAL DIG OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT BUT I DID SEE IT WITH MY OWN EYES AND THAY DO EXIST AND THE REPORTS ARE TRUE THIS THING LOOKED LIKE A MONSTROSITY FORM OF THE VIRIDACORNUS IT WAS ABOUT 18 INCHES AND COULD MOST LIKELY EAT A SMALL CHILD IF ANYONE HAS ANY PICS OF ANOTHER ONE I WOULD LOVE TO SEE IT

defour · Feb 8, 2004

Originally posted by Cooper
Finally some peple are starting to see my side, if they do grow till they die, what is stopping some from living a bit longer and growing bigger? f someone could prove that there is a 30" specimen at the bug museum, that would be great. There is always some freaky things in species that are different, like that tarantula with two abdomens or that guy that was like 9 feet tall. Who's to say that their couldn't be some freaky mutant giant centipede?

No one said there couldn't be one, just that it's unlikely and that not a shred of evidence supporting it exists.

But still! Why should a Theraphosa stop growing at a foot? Think about it! There are tiny tarantulas, medium sized tarantulas, big tarantulas and huge tarantulas. We all know God wouldn't abort a perfectly good series. There must be a super-huge tarantula somewhere, and somewhere else a super-duper-huge one! I bet there's even a Gargantotarantula somewhere, complete with capital "G"! Boy, I'd hate to run into that one, but I can't wait to see it when doubting scientists finally haul one onto a flatbed. I remember when I didn't think trout could exceed twenty feet or grow thick pelts; just shows how blinded one can be until one strolls up to a postcard rack.

One other idea that just occurred to me: maybe the pede measured 25 feet or 25 meters, and the transposition was done the other way. OMG!!!!!!! I'm going to build an addition on my house and start checking the petbugs classifieds more often!

Steve

Steven · Feb 9, 2004

THIS THING LOOKED LIKE A MONSTROSITY FORM OF THE VIRIDACORNUS

i can't express myself to clearly in englisch,... but why does everybody assumes it's a galapagoensis that looks like a viridicornis instead of realising it IS a viridicornis ????

that picture of the pede in the pineaple tree from galapos has banded leggs,..has 2 colored antenna etc...

and viridicornis do grow very large!!!! and maybe the specimen was found on the island of galapos but that doesn't mean it's originated there,..is it ????

just my view on it,....

@scarrypoppins:
at http://www.tarantulaspiders.com there a small picture of a very big viridicornis stuck up in a pictureframe,.. is that the picture you referring to ?
*edit*
here you'll find the bigger sized picture:
>>> bigger picture <<<

this topic stays amazingly intresting,.... :} :} :}

scarypoppins · Feb 9, 2004

VERY TRUE I CAN SENCE A GREAT ONGOING ARGUMENT ABOUT THIS THE VIRIDICORNUS AND THE GALOPOGANISIS ARE 2 TOTALY DIFFERANT ANIMALS WHAT COLLOR ARE THE BABY TRINIDADS WHEN THEY ARE ABOUT 6 INCHES BECAUSE I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT THE GOLOPOGOS BABYS ARE ALL BLACK OR LIGHT BROWN NO BANDS NO MARKINGS JUST TRUST ME I KNOW WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT ON THIS ONE

Scolopendra galapagoensis

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