centipede and millipede pictures and facts

#Centipede and millipede pictures and facts how to#
#Centipede and millipede pictures and facts download#

(At low concentrations, hydrogen cyanide smells like almond extract.) Although hydrogen cyanide is exceedingly toxic, the small amount each millipede produces is not hazardous to human health. The yellow and black flat millipede, Apheloria tigana, could well be called the almond-scented millipede or the cyanide millipede because of the hydrogen cyanide that it secretes when molested. And wouldn’t that be a pity? Search for your ideal safari here, or contact an Africa Geographic safari consultant to plan your dream vacation.Description and Biology Skip to Description and Biology A few weeks too early / late and a few kilometres off course and you could miss the greatest show on Earth. Travel in Africa is about knowing when and where to go, and with whom. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to enjoy more stories like this.

#Centipede and millipede pictures and facts download#

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#Centipede and millipede pictures and facts how to#

HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF AFRICA GEOGRAPHIC: To comment on this story please DOWNLOAD OUR APP. ©White Elephant Safari Lodge ©Sally Robinson It is thought that the bright body and leg colours of some millipedes is to warn off or repel predators.The longest living millipede is the giant African millipede ( Archispirostreptus gigas), reaching a length of up to 38.5 cm.Some extinct prehistoric millipedes (Arthropleura spp.) grew up to 2 metres in length!.This is the oldest known creature to have lived on land, and was discovered in 2004 from a single specimen in Scotland. The first known millipede, Pneumodesmus newmani, was only 1 cm long and appeared during the Paleozoic era, 252-541 million years ago. Millipedes are some of the oldest land animals on Earth.Some primates have been observed intentionally disturbing millipedes to obtain the foul-smelling toxins which they rub onto their bodies, also as a repellent. Hornbills have been observed using crushed millipedes to line their cavity nests in trees – possibly to avoid mite and other infestations.When disturbed, millipedes escape predation by moving away in a slithering, snake-like motion, which may scare off some predators.Millipedes also curl up into a tight ball when threatened, to protect their soft underparts.

This keeps most predators at bay, except for shrews and civets, which appear to be immune to these toxins.

Their primary defence mechanism is to release a foul-smelling toxin, which is made up of hydrochloric acid (which burns) and hydrogen cyanide (which asphyxiates).

There are about 12,000 described species of millipedes!.

However, no known species has that many legs, and the record for the most legs on a millipede species belongs to Illacme plenipes, who has 750 feet.

The name “millipede” is derived from Latin, meaning “thousand feet”.

The indigenous people of southern Africa call the millipede ‘ shongololo’, which is derived from from the Xhosa and Zulu word ‘ ukushonga’, meaning to roll up….

We rounded up ten interesting facts about these beautiful creatures: Some are HUGE – easily the size of your hand, and many have brightly coloured bodies and legs – possibly to scare off predators. Millipedes of all shapes and sizes are a common sight in Africa, particular after rain, when they are seen marching around in search of decaying plant matter to eat.