Centipedes are very interesting animals. My centipede is called Pachymerium Ferrugineum, or the earth centipede. Centipedes live in dirt of many places. Centipedes have one pair of legs per segment and the last pair of legs are always the longest.

The earth centipede looks very interesting.  It has 27 leg bearing segments and it is long and slender. Pachymerium Ferrugineum is the color of rust. No other centipede in Geophilormorpha is the same color. Centipedes lose water quickly so they have to live in damp places.

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P. Ferrugineum can be found in many places. Some places are Alaska, Azores, Canary Island, Europe, Hawaii, Mexico, New Zeland, and many more. The population and conservation status are unknown. Centipedes are considered pests and people kill them when they are in their house. Centipedes are found in interesting places.

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Earth centipedes have a place in the food web too. It is at the ground level. Centipedes mostly eat earthworms, spiders, and other centipedes. Mostly, spiders are their main competition for food. Beetles, salamanders, snakes, mice, and mongooses are P. Ferrugineum main predators. That is centipedes diet and predators.

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Centipedes are probably more interesting than you thought they were. They are colorful and live in many places. P. Ferrugineum has many predators and also many pray. Earth centipedes are very fascinating.

Author: Julia M.

Date Published: 4/2013

 

Sources:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centipede
http://eol.org/pages/978913/details http://www.articlesbase.com/p-articles/house-centipede-control-information-the-3-big-myths-about-controlling-house-centipedes-2588762.html
“Animal” Burnie, David, Wilson, Don E., New York, New York DK Publishing Inc. 2005 page 578

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 Photo Source: http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=7122534 By: Krister Hall