European giant runner
| European giant runner | ||||||||||||
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European giant runner ( Scolopendra cingulata ) |
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| Scolopendra cingulata | ||||||||||||
| Latreille , 1829 |
The European giant runner ( Scolopendra cingulata ), also known as the Mediterranean colopender , is found throughout the Mediterranean, from Portugal to the Black Sea areas. It is missing north of the Alps. The other six European species are more limited in their distribution:
- Scolopendra canidens Newport 1844: Greece
- Scolopendra clavipes CLKoch 1847: Greece
- Scolopendra cretica Attems 1902: Crete
- Scolopendra dalmatica CLKoch 1847: Middle and Eastern Mediterranean (Italy to Greece)
- Scolopendra oraniensis H. Lucas 1846: Western to central Mediterranean area (Portugal to Italy)
- Scolopendra valida H. Lucas 1840: Canary Islands
The world's largest species of centipedes belong to the genus Scolopendra . The European giant runner reaches an average body length of 10 cm, but there is also evidence of animals over 15 cm long. The coloring of the animals varies depending on the region. Usually the rear edges of the back segments are much darker and so the animals appear streaked. The differentiation from other species is based on the morphological characteristics of the internal genitals. The gender can only be identified by analyzing the internal genital segments.
The European giant runner is also predominantly nocturnal and hunts insects , but also occasionally small vertebrates such as young lizards . During the day, the animals usually hide under large stones and in cracks in the floor, where they are well protected from the heat and drought. Therefore they are at least easier to find in open terrain with a sufficient number of stones. The animals are represented in numerous biotopes, but occasionally hardly detectable without aids.
Similar to other species in the group, the European giant runner is one of the few invertebrates that attack when threatened. Compared to other species, however, it has a poison that is not particularly dangerous for humans. Bites are nevertheless very painful and therefore you should always give the animals enough space to escape when they meet.
Web links
- Breeding instructions from Jon Fouskaris (in English)
- 3D animation of the head of Matthew Colbert (in English)
literature
- JGE Lewis: The biology of centipedes . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1981
Individual evidence
- ↑ Fauna Europaea
- ^ Attems, C .: Myriapoda. 2. Scolopendromorpha. In: Walter de Gruyter & Co (ed.): The animal kingdom . Berlin, Leipzig 1930, p. 54: I-XIX and 1-308 .
- ↑ Radl, R .: About the life cycle, reproduction and brood care of the centipede Scolopendra cingulata (Chilopoda, Scolopendromorpha) . Ed .: Dissert. Univ. Wurzburg. 1993, p. 1-120 .
- ↑ Latrodecta: Sex determination of living centipedes ( Memento of the original from 23 August 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ René Schläfer: Scolopendromorpha: Sex determination on living animals . In: Weickmann (Ed.): Latrodecta . No. 27 , 2010, ISSN 0940-8185 , p. 32-38 .
