Creature Feature: Legs, Legs Everywhere

Have you ever explored nature and rolled a rock over only to find a strange, long creature with countless legs just moseying along? Have you ever ventured down into a crawlspace or basement, and came across a creature with many hair-like legs that looks like an alien from the Andromeda Galaxy? Well do I have the Creature Feature for you this month! Today, we are going to dive into the world of weird by covering two groups of creatures that are famous for their many legs: millipedes and centipedes.

Image: Millipede on the left, centipede on the right.

Let’s start with the millipedes. The word millipede is derived from Latin, meaning “thousand feet”, though most millipede species do not actually have that many legs. These arthropods are composed of many body segments, where each segment has two pairs of joint legs. For example, let’s say there is a millipede that has 30 body segments. This would mean that the millipede has 60 pairs of legs, or 120 legs total. They are also mainly detritivores – meaning their diet consists of decomposing leaves, plants, and fungi.

Another fun fact: millipedes are ancient creatures. Evolutionary biologists theorize that millipedes were one of the first animals to roam and colonize land above the sea, stretching as far back as a time known as the Silurian Period.

Alternatively, let us now continue to the next group of creatures that some liken to nightmare fuel. Centipedes (hundred feet) have only one pair of legs per body segment, which enables them to move much faster than their millipede cousins. They also have a different diet, being predatory carnivores that prey upon worms, larvae, and other arthropods. They achieve this through the use of venom, which all centipedes possess. However, unlike those that use fangs to disperse venom, such as snakes and spiders, centipedes use special front legs known as forcipules to inject the venom into their prey.

There is one weakness to centipedes however: they lose water much faster than insects or arachnids. Therefore, they would need to live in moist dark places, and only go out to hunt at night to avoid the sun. For this reason, you are most likely to find centipedes by rolling over rocks and logs, where the ground is always dampened by whatever is on top of it.

Happy Hunting! Just in time for Halloween, coincidentally!

Click here to learn more about Centipedes and Millipedes

Submitted by naturalist Zach Mork, September 2023