Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Myriapods (Myriapoda) » Centipedes (Chilopoda) » Bark Centipedes (Scolopendromorpha)

Order Scolopendromorpha - Bark Centipedes

Centipede 3 - Cryptops Centipede - Scolopocryptops spinicaudus Florida Blue Centipede - Hemiscolopendra marginata Giant Desert Centipede - Scolopendra heros Arboreal centipede in hollow twig - Hemiscolopendra marginata Centipede - Hemiscolopendra marginata Centipede brooding young - Scolopocryptops Scolopocryptops sexspinosus
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Myriapoda (Myriapods)
Class Chilopoda (Centipedes)
Order Scolopendromorpha (Bark Centipedes)
Numbers
3 family worldwide, all represented in NA; in our area, 27 spp. (incl. 6 introduced) in 9 genera; worldwide, 33 genera and ~600 described (estimated 800) spp.(1)(2)
Identification
21 (Scolopendridae, except Scolopendropsis, and Cryptopidae) or 23 pairs of legs (Scolopocryptopidae)(1)
Range
in warmer regions worldwide; in our area much more diverse towards the south, esp. in states bordering Mexico; two spp. reach Canada (so. ON, BC) and one, so. AK(2)
Food
Predacious
Remarks
They can bite and also pinch with their last pair of legs. Bites may cause intense pain, swelling, discoloration, numbness, and necrosis, and require medical assistance, although there are no really dangerous, deadly centipedes, and no confirmed human fatalities.(1)
Print References
Cloudsley-Thompson J.L. (1958) Spiders, scorpions, centipedes, and mites. (revised ed. 1968). Pegamon, Oxford. 228 pp.
Crabill, R.E., Jr. (1960). A new American genus of cryptopid centipede, with an annotated key to the scolopendromorph genera from American north of Mexico. Proc. of the U. S. Nat. Mus., 111, 1–15. (Full Text)
Shelley R.M. (2002) A synopsis of the North American centipedes of the order Scolopendromorpha (Chilopoda). Virginia Museum of Natural History Memoir 5:1-108. (Order here)
Works Cited
1.Shelley R.M. The myriapods, the world’s leggiest animals
2.Shelley R.M. (2002-) The centipede order Scolopendromorpha in North America
Contributed by Troy Bartlett on 16 February, 2004 - 12:31pm
Additional contributions by Lynette Elliott, Chuck Entz, Mike Quinn, Aaron Schusteff, v belov, Harsi S. Parker, Joseph DeSisto Alling
Last updated 24 May, 2018 - 11:25am

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2021 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by: