Centipede - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chilopoda
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
(unranked):	Myriapoda
Class:	Chilopoda
Orders
	Geophilomorpha; Lithobiomorpha; Scolopendromorpha; Scutigeromorpha;

A centipede is a type of myriapod with many legs. Centipedes are predators. They hunt during the night; they are nocturnal. Some centipedes are venomous, but none can kill a person unless they are allergic. Centipedes are in the class Chilopoda, and related to millipedes, which are not poisonous. As the millipedes, they are segmented. They have between 5 and 173 segments, but only one pair of legs per segment. There may be 8,000 species in the world.^[1]

The house centipede is a carnivore that feeds on cockroaches, house flies and other domestic pests. It is therefore beneficial. But because it has a scary appearance it is often exterminated.

References

↑ Adis, Joachim & Harvey, Mark S. 2000. How many Arachnida and Myriapoda are there worldwide and in Amazonia?. Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment 35 (2): 139–141.

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[1] Adis, Joachim & Harvey, Mark S. 2000. How many Arachnida and Myriapoda are there worldwide and in Amazonia?. Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment 35 (2): 139–141.

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