Centipedes and millipedes belong to the subphylum of Myriapoda which means “many pairs of legs”. Centipedes are further classified into the class Chilopoda,which refers to their front pincer-like legs, separate from millipedes which belong to the class Diplopoda. The word centipede itself means “hundred- foot” although few species actually have this many legs. Like insects, they are arthropods having a hard exoskeleton and jointed legs.They have long bodies with many segments, each with a single pair of legs. This distinguishes them from millipedes, which have two pairs of legs per body segment. They are fast moving, especially when disturbed. The first pair of legs behind the head are modified claws which contain venom (Chilopoda classification). They can be quite aggressive. The largest species in Australia is Ethmostigmus rubripes which grows to 160mm.
Adult size: 4-160mm
