36 MYRIAPODA 



like those of the Polydesmidae, or of our own Cryptops, are 

 highly developed, and form the only example among the 

 Myriapods of what are known as facetted eyes. The Scutigeridae 

 are also remarkable among Myriapods for the possession of a 

 peculiar sense-organ which is found in no other Myriapod. 



The Myriapods most numerous in our own country are 

 Lithohius and Julus. Zithohius, which will be described later on, 

 may be found in almost anf garden under dried leaves, stones, 

 etc. Julus, the common wire-worm, is found crawling on plants 

 and leaves and under the bark of trees, and does a good deal of 

 damage in a garden. Polydesmus is also frequently found in 

 great numbers, and usually a great many of them together. 

 Glomeris is also found, though it is not so common as the first 

 two mentioned animals. Geophilus is also common, and especially 

 in the south of England. Scolopendridae are only represented 

 by a single genus, C^yptops, which is not very common, though 

 by no means rare. The best place to find them is in manure 

 heaps. The animals of this species are small compared to most 

 Scolopendras, and have the peculiarity of being without any eyes. 



Scutigera is unrepresented in this country. One was found 

 in Scotland some years ago by Mr. Gibson Carmichael, but was 

 shown to have been imported, and not bred in the place. 



The means of defence possessed by these animals also differ 

 very much in the different species of Myriapods. In tlie 

 Centipedes the animals are provided with a powerful weapon in 

 the great poison claws which lie just beneath the mouth, and 

 which are provided with large poison glands, which supply a 

 fluid which runs through a canal in the hard substance of the 

 .claw and passes into the wound made by the latter. The effect 

 of this fluid is instantaneous on the small animals which form 

 the food of the Centipedes. I have myself watched Zithohius in 

 this country creep up to a blue-bottle fly and seize it between the 

 poison claws. One powerful nip and the blue-bottle was dead, as 

 if struck by lightning. I have also seen them kill worms and also 

 other Zithohius in the same way. When another Zithohius is 

 wounded by the poison claws it seems to be paralysed behind 

 the wound. The Millepedes, on the other hand, have no such 

 offensive and defensive weapon. They rely for protection on the 

 fluid secreted by the stig^nata repugnatoria (or glandulae odori- 

 ferae) mentioned before. This fluid has been shown to contain 



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