SCOLOPENDRA. ^fS 



Genus XII. — Scolope?idra. 



1 HIS tribe has in the Latin language obtained the name 

 of mille~pes, from the extraordinary number of feet with 

 which nature has provided fome of its fpecies ; one kind 

 of the fcolopendra having no lefs than an hundred on 

 each fide. In general, the feet of thefe infeds are as 

 numerous as the fegments into which their bodies are di- 

 vided. They have the antenna fetaceous, articulated 

 palpi, and the body depreffed or flattened f . Of this hi- 

 deous race there are eleven different fpecies, diftinguiihed 

 by their form, fize, and colour. Some live beneath the 

 bark of decayed trees, or are found below ftones and 

 garden boxes ; others inhabit the frefli and fait water, 

 and are all remarkable for their quick progrejQlve mo- 

 tion. 



Scolopendra forjicata. The feet of this fpecies are 

 fifteen on each fide ; the lad longer than the reft, and 

 turning backwards, form a forked tail. The body is of 

 a dun colour, fmooth, and compofed of nine fcaly feg- 

 ments, without reckoning the head J. 



The marine fcolopendra || in form fomewhat refembles 

 the leech ; it builds thofe fmall edifices of a brittle and 

 porous texture which are feen upon the fhore at low wa- 

 ter, Thefe maffes are compofed of a number of fmall 



funnels, 



f Syft. Nat. p. io6a. | Barbiit's Gen. Inf.p. 367. 



i[ Vide Rai Inf. p. 44. 



