Scolopendra hardwickei

Scolopendra hardwickei, the Indian tiger centipede, is a species of centipede in the family Scolopendridae.[1]

Scolopendra hardwickei
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain:Eukaryota
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Arthropoda
Subphylum:Myriapoda
Class:Chilopoda
Order:Scolopendromorpha
Family:Scolopendridae
Genus:Scolopendra
Species:
S. hardwickei
Binomial name
Scolopendra hardwickei
Newport, 1844
Synonyms
  • Scolopendra bicolor (Humbert, 1865)
  • Scolopendra histrionic (CL Koch, 1847)

Description

Scolopendra hardwickei can reach a length of 16 centimetres (6.3 in). Antennas consist of 17 or 18 segments, of which the first 6-7 are shiny. It is a pigmented species, with exceptionally bright and contrasting coloration, alternating dark orange and deep black segments, with dark orange legs.[2] The head and antennae or also dark orange, but the first six segments of the antennae are generally of a lighter hue.[3]

Distribution

This species is common in the south of the Indian peninsula and it is rarely found on the islands of Sumatra and Nicobar.[2][4]

Venom

The bite of S. hardwickei can cause swelling and drowsiness.

Bibliography

  • Attems C. (1930) Myriopoda. 2. Scolopendromorpha, Das Tierreich. De Gruyter, Berlin. 54: 1-308
  • ChiloBase: A World Catalogue of Centipedes (Chilopoda) for the web. Minelli A. (ed)
  • Dr. Graf Attems - Myriopoda. 2. Scolopendromorpha (1930)
  • G.E. Lewis. 1981. The biology of centipedes, Cambridge University Press
  • Haase E. (1887) Die Indisch-Australischen Myriopoden. Pt. I. Chilopoden, Abhandlungen und Berichte des Königlichen Zoologischen und. Anthropologisch- Ethnographischen Museums zu Dresden. 5: 1-118
  • Humbert A. (1865) Essai sur les myriapodes de Ceylan, Mèmoires de la Société de Physique et d'Histoire Naturelle de Genéve. 18: 1-62
  • Koch C.L. (1847) System der Myriapoden. In: Herrich-Schäffer L. (ed.), Kritische Revision der Insectenfauna Deutschlands., Pustet, Regensburg. 3:1-270
  • Newport G. (1844) A list of the species of Myriapoda order Chilopoda contained in the cabinets of the British Museum with synoptic descriptions of forty-seven new species, Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 13: 94-101

References