Sexual dimorphism in Scolopendra hainanum

[Zac0904]

Hello all,

I have recently heard rumors on sexual dimorphism of Scolopendra hainanum which -

“Males are patternless
females are patterned”

I was skeptical at first, so I went ahead to test this theory out with my specimens.


All specimens (except 1) were knocked out using setup as follows:
-A container cup with 2mm hole poked on top and 2 on the sides
-A CO2 pump with CO2 cardriges



Specimen 1 (Patternless):


Male

Specimen 2 (Patterned):


Female

Specimen 3 (Patternless):


Male

Specimen 4 (Patterned):
I ran out of CO2 cans here


Female

Further testing has been done on:
-6 other patterned specimens, all turned out to be female.
-2 other patternless specimens, all turned out to be male.

In conclusion, the theory is confirmed(?)
As all my specimens seems to be alined with what is stated.

Just wanted share something interesting I have discovered.
Any input is appreciated!

Thanks,
Zach

 

[Zac0904]

Note: Female specimens also tend to be larger than males in this species.

 

[Wolfram1]

As someone who is interested but has no experience with keeping any Myriapoda or Scolopendra, could you explain/show what you mean with "patterned/patternless"

if this is true it would mean this species can be kept and bred much more conviniently without any of the specialized CO2 equipment used for sexing, right?

 

[Zac0904]

By patterned I meant by the stripes along the legs of the specimen.

Take specimen 1 for example, the legs are completely yellow. While on specimen 2, there are black stripes along the yellow legs of the specimen.

Referring to the point of not using CO2 for sexing in this species.

I do believe it could be possible to sex this species without the use of anesthesia, as I have not come across any sexed specimens that differ from the observations. (In my collection at least)