MYRIAPODS, 29 



De Geer practically watched the proceedings of this species, 

 and says of it, "I have seen a fly after being bitten by one of the 

 Scolopendrse die almost instantaneously, which would seem to 

 indicate that their bite is venomous." The jaws rnay be seen in 

 the enlarged woodcut of the head of this species. 



Genus Cermatia {Meg.), 



The genus Cermatia, or Scutigera as it was called by Lamarck, 

 is distinguished from all the rest of the Myriapods by its long legs, 

 bringing it, in this respect, near to the spiders, which it resembles 

 also in its very rapacious and carnivorous nature. The eyes are 

 two, compound. One pattern of colouration runs through the 

 whole of the Cermatiae, viz., longitudinal stripes on the body and 

 annulations on the appendages. The colour varies in different 

 species, and although very evanescent after death or when ex- 

 posed to alcohol, is probably a good specific character. Mr. 

 Wood mentions that he has seen specimens of one of the North 

 American species, C. forceps (which is greenish brown with longi- 

 tudinal stripes of dark green), changed almost immediately to 

 green or blue, or, still more commonly, to bright purple by al- 

 cohol. The legs in all the species are banded. They are also 

 very easily detached, it being almost impossible to preserve a 

 specimen without losing them, which prevents the use being made 

 of the relative proportions of their parts which might otherwise be 

 done. In one respect the Cermatidse seem to form an excep- 

 tion to a character which is universal in the family in which it is 

 placed j but it is only apparent, not real. The head in the Chi- 

 lognaths is composed of only one segment ; but in the Chilopods, 

 to which Cermatia belongs, it is always developed into two sepa- 

 rate segments, the posterior of which gives origin to the immense 

 foot jaws of the family. In apparent contradiction to this, the 

 head of the Cermatidse, when viewed from above, appears to con- 

 sist of but a single segment ; but this is merely because the two 



