hey there! welcome to the new episode of Curiosity! A series in which we will answer some of the questions that makes us all curious.
As, explained in my previous article, Amazon rain-forest covers half of the rain-forest of the world making it habitat for 1000s of species. This rain-forest is swarming with new life and new species every day than rest of the world combined. some insect are small and but some of them grow enormously , sometimes bigger than a human hand. Imagine a insects longer than your hand. That's enough to give you creeps. One of this Insects is "The Amazonian giant Centipede" , which not just the largest centipede , but also very venomous and extremely high tempered. This is the insect not to be messed with. but what actually makes this insect dangerous? Lets find out.
The Amazonian Giant Centipede
The amazonian giant centipede is the world's largest carnivorous centipede , which can be up to 35 cm (14 in). The another term for this centipede is "Peruvian giant yellow-legged centipede".
They have unique Body design
Body length reaching up-to 35 cm with many segments in their body. Each of these segments consists of a pair of legs. The body is red-maroon colored with yellow legs. There are of total about 46 legs , each legs bigger than a human finger. This feature makes them very fast and quick.
In the first segment of the body , Fangs are present replacing legs. These fangs are generally known as maxillipedes and are used for inject venom into the prey. Also at the end they have claws to capture prey and this is where the poison glands opens.
Fig: Body Structure (Credits)
Despite being a great killer , they have no eyes. however, they have large and developed brain. Replacing eyes, they have antennas, this antennas are very long and usually used to sense food. Food might consist of anything. They will eat anything in their way. This is what make them so dangerous.
These insects have open circulatory system. This means they don't have true heart instead they use blood vessels to pump blood. The blood flows though the vessels pouring in the cavities, and again flowing though more vessels directly into the larger cavities making it available to the different tissues. The reason this process works is, because this arthropods contains a large number of holes which makes it easier to enrich blood with oxygen.
Their Diet
The amazonian giant centipede is a carnivorous. But they are not a selective eater, they feed on what ever they can kill , or whatever comes in their way. This might include smaller insects like crickets, worms to larger insects like tarantulas and also lizards. Sometimes , they even attack and eat mice, birds , bats and even snakes.
Fig: Killing a Snake (Credits)
The snake that they feed on are no more longer than 15 inches ,also birds are of smaller species like sparrow but they have a very unique way of killing bats. They are very dedicated for killing bat. They climb up the cave walls, wait on the ceiling of the cave wall for hours for a small bat to pass by. When a smaller bat flies close enough, these centipedes jumps out still holding the wall with its rare legs and grabs the bat.This is what makes them one of the best predators of the amazon. Imagine a centipede killing snakes and bats.
Fig: Catching a bat (Credits)
Their Behavior
Unlike other centipedes these centipedes are very bad tempered , very jumpy and nervous. They are virtually blind so , they start running and jumping when ever disturbed by something , which they don't recognize. Also if they don't run way , they will catch the prey and coil the prey with its entire body very tightly, with all of its legs attached to the body of the enemies body , making it impossible for them to escape.
Are they Dangerous to humans?
The venom of these centipedes are very potent containing different mediators like serotonin, histamine and acetylcholine. With this toxic venom , they can kill almost any small animals and other insects, but they are not that toxic to humans.
How ever , a bite form these centipedes can be extremely painful causing large swelling and fever. It's dangerous for children and the adults who are allergic particularly to this venom , in this cases it might also cause death. However, most of these centipedes are not even able to pierce the human skin. Till now, only few researches have been done on this centipede's venom. But, all these things suggests, they are very unlikely to kill humans , likes other animals like snakes do but still, if you want them as pets, you should handle them with care. You can get them for $300 , if you want them as pets.
Some Interesting Facts
- In China , the Venom of these centipedes was used as medicine. Used for treating various skin diseases, scars and even kidney stones, but they are not used now.
-In Africa and Thailand, These centipedes are cooked and taken as a delicacy.
Fig: Cooked Centipedes (Credits)
That's it fro this episode guys, hope you enjoyed it, if you did , upvote and comment your thoughts below. There is much more to come so , don't forget to follow me. Thank you
Stay Curious.
References used:
[1]- Link 1
[2]-Link 2
[3] -Link 3
[4]-Link 4
Last Episode:
Curiosity | Mysterious Creatures Of Amazon - The Wandering Spiders | Episode 1