scolopendra in the dinosaur age!?

[ornata]

hello

does anyone know how big centipedes were about 70-100 million years ago, did they look very much like todays scolopendra spp.?

I know that centepides have been around a very long time, maybe 350 million years, but have they change ass little ass scorpions and mygalomorphe spiders!?

 

[Hamburglar]

I would have to look it up again but I know there were some centipede or centipede like critters that were much much larger than todays pedes.... I remember some reports of 5 feet long and a foot wide....I believe there was an 8 foot specimen found in New Mexico also.....

edit: the pedes I was refering to are probably much older than your stated range in the cretaceous... sorry about that

 

[maxident213]

I took this picture at the Peabody Museum at Yale, the model is about four feet long if I recall correctly, some sort of ancient myriapod.

 

[hibludij]

well its more a milipede, but still big and scary.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnCIEgk55DU

 

[bistrobob85]

Wow, that thing could eat my hybiscus . It would be interesting if we could see a fossil of the first chilopods... If anybody has seen any, it would be nice to compare it to the actual species...

phil.