Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
Upcoming Events

Photos of insects and people from the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2024

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29


Previous events


TaxonomyBrowse
Info
ImagesLinksBooksData

Order Scolopendromorpha - Bark Centipedes

Tiger Centipede - Scolopendra polymorpha Many Legs and some fangs to boot! - Hemiscolopendra marginata French Joe centipede - Scolopendra polymorpha Giant Redheaded Centipede - Scolopendra heros Florida blue centipede - Hemiscolopendra marginata Scolopocryptopidae - Scolopocryptops Giant Redheaded Centipede? - Scolopendra heros Scolopendra heros - male
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Myriapoda (Myriapods)
Class Chilopoda (Centipedes)
Order Scolopendromorpha (Bark Centipedes)
Explanation of Names
Scolopendromorpha Pocock 1895
Numbers
3 families, all represented in NA; in our area, 27 spp. (incl. 6 introduced) in 9 genera; worldwide, ~700 spp. in 35 genera total(1)(2)
Identification
see (2)
Range
warmer regions worldwide; in our area much more diverse towards the south, esp. in states bordering Mexico; 2 spp. reach Canada (s.ON, BC) and one, s.AK(2)
Remarks
can bite and also pinch with their last pair of legs. Bites may cause intense pain, swelling, numbness, and necrosis, and require medical assistance, although there are no really dangerous centipedes, and no confirmed human fatalities.(1)
Print References
Crabill R.E., Jr. (1960) A new American genus of cryptopid centipede, with an annotated key to the scolopendromorph genera from America north of Mexico. Proc. USNM 111: 1–15. (Full Text)