Well, in millipedes (Class Dipopoda) that's two PAIRS of legs per body ring, except the first few at the front have one pair each. The body rings are two fused true segments.
Centipedes (Class Chilopoda) have one pair of legs per segment. The venomous fangs are modified legs folded under the head. The other legs are nonvenomous. Both groups have many Orders, Families, genera and species. The two Classes split at least 200 million years ago. Diplopoda or millipedes may have been the first animals to colonize land from water. Bill E. On Jan 31, 2019, at 10:49 AM, Geary Schindel <gschin...@edwardsaquifer.org> wrote: Bill, for us non-biologists, I learned the difference between the two pedes is a centipede has one leg per segment and millipedes may have two or more. Is that correct? Thanks, Geary From: Texascavers <texascavers-boun...@texascavers.com> On Behalf Of speodes...@gmail.com Sent: Thursday, January 31, 2019 10:43 AM To: texascavers@texascavers.com Subject: Re: [Texascavers] critters in caves Friends, The large centipedes like you described may be Scolopendra species. They can bite and inject venom, and it hurts. They eat cave crickets and other things. See James Reddell's biology chapter in Elliott and Veni's "The Caves and Karst of Texas" 1994. Not to be confused with the many small species of millipedes like Speodesmus and Cambala in Texas caves. Most are troglobites, and all millipedes are harmless. They eat soil, fungi etc. Thanks, William R. (Bill) Elliott On Jan 31, 2019, at 10:29 AM, John Brooks <john.brooks.archit...@gmail.com> wrote: Interesting post. First - I assume that many people know this - But the TCMA owns several caves / preserves that are focused on protecting “cave critters”. Check out the TCMAs website for more information. Second - over many years of caving I have many interesting encounters with critters in caves....from crawling into an obvious rattlesnake den in Oklahoma....to unintentionally peeing on a rattlesnake just outside of another Oklahoma cave....and leaping down onto a water moccasin at another Oklahoma cave....and being stung by a scorpion that dropped onto my neck in a TEXAS cave....and finding a fresh mountain lion kill in a New Mexico cave ( it slipped past me and got out of the cave much to the surprise of my companions ). Anyway, the wildlife in and around caves has always been the more memorable part of caving for me - I just wish I could have gotten pictures of some of these encounters along the way. But I have never been stung by a big centipede and no plans to try it. Sent from my iPhone On Jan 31, 2019, at 10:15 AM, Fritz Holt <fritz...@gmail.com> wrote: David’s comments raises a question I have. I have been wading Hill Country rivers (Frio, Nueces and Sabinal)and exploring their rocky cliffs and caves for 65 years. I have had encounters with rattlers, water snakes, various lizards and centipedes. I love them all but am especially fascinated with the large centipedes. The largest ones I have seen were between four and five inches long. I seem to remember their coloration was black and various shades of red, yellow and orange. I may have picked up one or two without gloves but was never bitten or stung. I assume they can inflict pain but guess I was lucky (as always) and would like some feedback on this. Are they harmful? Fritz Holt fritz...@gmail.com Sent from my iPhone On Jan 30, 2019, at 1:54 PM, David <dlocklea...@gmail.com> wrote: People, including cavers, often associate cave animals with bats. I think we often neglect the other critters. For example, name a cave that is devoted to the preservation of Red-headed Centipede. Or any other cave-dwelling centipede. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Scolopendra_heros.jpg I saw a 6 inch long centipede in Brehmer Cave near New Braunfels, around 1996. I remember the color patter was maroon and black, but can't remember which color was the dominating color - Maybe black with some maroon parts ? I can only imagine cavers with lots of experience have seen hundreds of these. Of course, you probably would not want to crawl around in a cave with 100's of venomous centipedes. Would you ? On a related note, I have not seen a horned-toad in the wild in over 30 years. And on a totally different note, Last night, I was driving around 2 a.m. in the morning from Houston to Gatesville ( northwest of Temple ) via the small towns around Milano, and I saw stars for the first time in almost a year. I did not have time to even get out of the car and look at the stars. There was still too much light on the horizon and from traffic to really get a good look at them. _______________________________________________ Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/texascavers@texascavers.com/ http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers _______________________________________________ Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/texascavers@texascavers.com/ http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers _______________________________________________ Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/texascavers@texascavers.com/ http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers _______________________________________________ Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/texascavers@texascavers.com/ http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers
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