578 CENTEPEDES. 
MYRIAPODA. 
In accordance with the best systems of the present day, the MyRIAPODA: 
are considered as a separate class. 
The Myriapoda are without even the rudiments of wings, and possess 
a great number of feet, not less than twelve pairs; and in some species 
there are more than forty pairs uf legs. In allusion to their numerous feet 
the Myrapoda are popuiaily called Hundred-legs, and their scientific title 
is even bolder, sign tying ten thousand feet. ‘To tnis class belong the well- 
known centipedes, so plentiful in our gardens, and the equally well-known 
nulepedes, 1ouna under decaying wood and in similar localiues. In England 
none of the Myriapods attain to great dimensions, but in hot countries, and 
especially under the tropics, they become so lar,e as to be positively formid- 
able as well as repulsive. 
WE now arrive at the true Scolopendre, which, together with the allied 
genera, are popularly known by the name of CENTIPEDES. The genus 
Scolopendra is a very large one, containing about sixty species, most of 
them inhabitants of the tropics, and many attaining a large size. The 
great Scolopendre: are not only 
unpleasant and repulsive to the 
sivht, but are really formidable 
creatures. being armed with fangs 
scarcely less terrible than the sting 
of the scorpion. These weapons 
are placcd just below the mcuth, 
and are formed fiom the sccond 
pair of feet, which are modified 
into a pair of strong claws, set 
horizontally in a mainer resem- 
bling the falces of ordinary spiders, 
and terminated by a strong and 
sharp hook on each side. ‘hese 
hooks are perforated, and are 
: ai traversed by a little channel lead- 
ot ees ing from a poison gland, like that 
ws of the scorpion, so that the 
venomous secretion is forced into 
the wound by the very action of 
Aitivonomalus loneicorn’s. - biting. 
: The figure represents acentipede 
which is found in England, and in some localities is very common. It is 
represented cf its natural size, and, as may be seen, is in no way conspicuous 
for its dimensions, lt is, however. remarkable on another acccunt. It-las 
the power of giving out a tolerally strong phosphorescent light, which is 
only visible after dark, but is then very conspicuous, and has often caused 
the centivede to be mistaken for a ylow-worm. It is not unfrequently 
found within peaches, apricots, plums, and simular fruits, when they are very 
ripe, and lies comfortab y coiled up in the little sp:ce between the stone 
and the fruit, where the sweetest juices lie. The colour of this centipede 
is yellow; its head is decp rust colour ; its antennae are very hairy, and four 
times as long as the nead segment. There are from fifty-one to fifty-five 
pairs of legs. Its length varies from two inches and a half to three inches, 
NWSE 
