CENTIPEDES. 
145 
CHAPTER XV. 
Mykiapoda ( Centipedes ). 
There is a small class of animals, familiar enough to all, 
because several species are common in every garden, 
which seem but slightly removed above the Annelida we 
lately considered. If we take one of the many-ringed 
sea-worms, a Nereis or a Phyllodoce, for example, and 
compare it with a Scolopendra from beneath a stone, or a 
Juhis from a decaying tree, we shall be at once struck 
with the resemblance in structure between the two forms ; 
the leading character in each case being that the greatly 
lengthened body is composed of numerous segments, each 
the counterpart of the others, and each bearing a lateral 
pair of short limbs. 
The limbs in the Myriapod are made of distinct joints, 
which is not the case with the Annelid ; the integument 
of the body is of a firmer and more horny character ; and 
the stiff segments are separated by a thin flexible mem- 
brane, so that considerable freedom of motion is allowed ; 
but these modifications have respect mainly to the sphere 
of action of the animal, which is terrestrial ; a greater 
degree of firmness and compactness being necessary for 
vigorous movements on the solid earth, than for those 
performed in water. 
K 
