22 NOTES ON MILLIPEDES. 



brown, claws black ; hind-legs reddish brown, getting darker 

 distally, last segments nearly black; underneath of head reddish 

 brown, last joint of poison-fangs black ; lower surface of body 

 brownish yellow. 



A young specimen from Kabin was black with orange -red 

 legs and a broad orange-red band behind the head. 



A centipede 53 mm. (say 2 inches) in length (excluding 

 antennae or hindlegs), which Pocock considers to be probably the 

 young of this species, had the upper parts reddish-brown, but 

 the posterior part of each segment very dark, nearly black ; the 

 antennae, head and first two segments of body olive green ; 

 legs on remaining segments pale red ; and the under surface 

 pale reddish-brown. 



Size. The finest De Haan's Centipede I have measured 

 was caught in our compound in Bangkok, 19th December, 1897. 



Its dimensions were : — 

 Total length, from tip of antennae to claw of hind foot 281 mm. 

 Length, without antennas or hind legs .. ... ...210 



,, antennae ... .. ... . ... ... 38 



,, hind-leg ... ... ... ... ... ... 35 



Width, 2nd segment . ... ... ... ... ... 16 



„ 15th „ 17 



,, 21st ,, ... ... ... ... ... ... 15 



„ 22nd (last) 11 



These two species, supposing them to be distinct, seem simi- 

 lar in habits ; they are for the most part nocturnal, but I have 

 met them roaming abroad in the day time ; they are to be found 

 in houses and gardens as well as in the jungle, and even on board 

 ship. They run very swiftly, and try to bite fiercely when interfer- 

 ed with ; what the effect of their bite on a man could be I do not 

 know, I only once saw one bitten — Surgeon-Captain Smith at 

 Penang in 1895. He felt no ill effects from the bite, but the centi- 

 pede had previously been biting at some cord, in a loop of which 

 we were trying to secure it, so had probably exhausted its sup- 

 ply of poison. It is said that their claws are poisonous, and I 

 have even been told in Singapore that a centipede ran over a 

 man's face and left a line of bad sores where its feet touched his 

 skin. I cannot believe this — for I have seen Malays allowing a 

 big centipede (with poison fangs extracted) to run about their 



