Scolopendra sp "hispaniola red giant"/ alternans

[CHLee]

Scolopendra sp. "hispaniola red giant" hailing from the south part of Hispaniola island, mainly around the dry forests of Jaragua national park, and appearing in one episode of Man vs wild. this species started appearing on European dealer lists around 2014, first marketed as gigantea/ galapagoensis, then changed to sp. "red giant". There are reports of them being offered earlier back but those reports remain unproven. terminal legs, ventral 15 spines terminal legs, dorso medial 20 spines coxopleural process, 7 spines 17 antennael segments, 5 smooth hair on antennae segments arranged in "rows"? leg 20, 4 dorso distial spines on prefemur tergite 6, margination starts leg 20, 4 dorso distial spines on prefemur prefemoral process 8 spines

So here we have Scolopendra alternans, until someone decides to reclassify the alternans species-group in the future.

 

[Ratmosphere]

So beautiful man.

 

[RTTB]

Well done. Add this species to my want list.

 

[Salvador]

Fantastic pictures, just what we needed really!

 

[dragonfire1577]

Pretty cool! If you look on Inaturalist you can see these guys and more typical alternans overlapping a bit in range so I'd be interested to see what the conclusion would be if they were reclassified.

 

[Scoly]

I posted this before, but here's a photo of an alternans from Aruba island, which looks like half "standard alternans" and half "red giant":

 

[CHLee]

I posted this before, but here's a photo of an alternans from Aruba island, which looks like half "standard alternans" and half "red giant":

View attachment 273326

I don't trust what the dealer that offered them says, he had 4 of them for sale in 2015-16

 

[Comatose]

Scolopendra sp. "hispaniola red giant" hailing from the south part of Hispaniola island, mainly around the dry forests of Jaragua national park, and appearing in one episode of Man vs wild. this species started appearing on European dealer lists around 2014, first marketed as gigantea/ galapagoensis, then changed to sp. "red giant". There are reports of them being offered earlier back but those reports remain unproven. View attachment 273200 terminal legs, ventral 15 spines View attachment 273201 terminal legs, dorso medial 20 spines View attachment 273202 coxopleural process, 7 spines View attachment 273203 17 antennael segments, 5 smooth View attachment 273204 hair on antennae segments arranged in "rows"? View attachment 273205 leg 20, 4 dorso distial spines on prefemur View attachment 273207 tergite 6, margination starts View attachment 273209 leg 20, 4 dorso distial spines on prefemur View attachment 273210 prefemoral process 8 spines View attachment 273211

So here we have Scolopendra alternans, until someone decides to reclassify the alternans species-group in the future.

Is this species/form currently available or has it been available recently in the US?

 

[NYAN]

Is this species/form currently available or has it been available recently in the US?

Not commonly. I saw one for sale at one of the expos I went to. $350 if I remember correctly.

 

[Comatose]

Not commonly. I saw one for sale at one of the expos I went to. $350 if I remember correctly.

Cool, thank you!

 

[basin79]

Had one of these beautiful pede in 2014. They're like tanks. Pics just don't do them justice at just how stocky they are.

 

[Teds ts and Inverts]

Does anyone know why the S. sp. “Red Giant Hispaniola” are so expensive when compared to the regular alternans (especially considering they may be the same species)?

 

[Salvador]

Probably down to being less common, found in a national park, and haven't been bred all that much in the hobby, in comparison to Haitians.

 

[Teds ts and Inverts]

Probably down to being less common, found in a national park, and haven't been bred all that much in the hobby, in comparison to Haitians.

Interesting, but I don’t think they are confined to the National Park tho. Nonetheless, I definitely agree with your statement on breeding, and now that I think about it, I definitely think that is the main reason why they are on the same scale as the SA giants when it comes to price. Thx

 

[Salvador]

Interesting, but I don’t think they are confined to the National Park tho. Nonetheless, I definitely agree with your statement on breeding, and now that I think about it, I definitely think that is the main reason why they are on the same scale as the SA giants when it comes to price. Thx

Aye, quite right, no reason for them to follow boundaries. Another small point I can share from personal experience, as far as breeding goes, the babies are a pain in the backside to raise successfully.

 

[Teds ts and Inverts]

Aye, quite right, no reason for them to follow boundaries. Another small point I can share from personal experience, as far as breeding goes, the babies are a pain in the backside to raise successfully.

Yup, I’ve heard pedelings can be very difficult to raise.

 

[antinous]

Wow, stunning animal! How long do these guys generally live for? Do males have a shorter lifespan as well?

 

[NYAN]

Wow, stunning animal! How long do these guys generally live for? Do males have a shorter lifespan as well?

I’m not sure of the lifespan, but centipede lifespan is pretty all over the place. From my understanding, the sex of the pede doesn’t affect lifespan.