Scolopendra sp. "gigantea robusta"

[Ct2608]

Hello,
I read this everyday. All of you are great. I appreciate the fact that everybody helps out. Thanks. I have about 12 pedes now. pretty good considering that I was biten by one when I was 8 in Hawaii and have had a phobia ever since. I have gotten over it.
Well it my turn to ask. Does the Gigantea have a specific color to it like the leg color or body color to identify it as a true gigantea? in other words how would be able to tell if it is a ture gigantea? White legs, Yellow legs?

Scott :?

 

[Steven]

depends on what you consider a "true" gigantea.

coloration is not a good key to ID a scolopendra specie. (but i guess you allready knew that ) The Sandefer book and the Centipede Enthousiast book will help you to get the right keys to be sure you'll get a "gigantea".

but usually the pedes with the yellow legs (last pair slighty banded) + red body with light or dark bandings + yellow antenna's are considered to be the scolopendra spec. known as "gigantea robusta"

white-cream legs + dark-red body + red antenna's are as far as i know the "classic" gigantea.

but as i said above !!!! don't count on colorations
First be sure if it's has the keys to be found in the guides mentioned above.

hopefully this has helped a bit

 

[danread]

A picture says a thousand words.....

Here is my Scolopendra gigantea "robusta"

 

[danread]

And here is my Scolopemndra gigantea "classic form"

I hope this helps.

Cheers,

 

[Ct2608]

Could not ask for more than that! Thanks alot

 

[Mister Internet]

Do I always have to be the one to chime in to these discussions on gigantea and say that there is no such thing as S. gigantea robusta? I spoke with Carl about it personally, and there was nothing scientific in the name, he was more just thinking out loud by writing. There is S. gigantea and S. robusta but there has never been an officially described species that was any combination of those two names.

Didn't mean to crap on the thread. I can't tell you exact scientific names for either of the species listed further than they are likely both just plain old S. gigantea, but in my conversations with Dr. Shelley, he thought there was a possibility that some of the earlier imports from Peru might have been S. galapagoensis.

Anyway... those are brillinat awesome pedes....

 

[Steven]

@Dan
AND ???? stil in its hidingplace :?

@MrInternet
guess we can almost call it a "common" name then ?

 

[danread]

Hi MI,

Thanks for the info. I understand that there isn't an officiallly named S. gigantea "robusta", thats why i use the inverted commas. I think most of us use it for a lack of a better name. Do you have any idea what Scolopendra robusta looks like? Could it be the one i have in the first pictures? I was always under the impression that what i called "robusta" is a subspecies of gigantea or possibly an undescribed species of scolopendra.
I think for now i am going to have to use the name Scolopendra gigantea "robusta" for that colour morph, as the name recognises that it is as far as we know, it is a gigantea, and "robusta" recognises that it is possibly a subspecies, but at least the inverted commas indicate that it is not official.
Unfortunately it's unlikely that we are going to be able to get any firm answers in the near future, there is a serous lack of taxonomists working in the field of myriopods.

Steven,

I actually cheked her last week, it was very hard to see in as she had moved more soil up to the glass in her burrow. I didn't want to shine a torch directly in, but i could make out that she was still on her back, so it is still looking good. I will check again at the end of next week, it will be 5 weeks then, and if she still has the eggs, i would hope they should be hatching around then. Fingers crossed anyway, it would be an amazing thing to have lots of baby gigantea!

Cheers,

 

[fatbloke]

dan

i really hope your gigantea is still gaurding her eggs as nothing has come of mine all it does is the fact that i know 1 of them is female that i might try in with a male early next year

john