The Chinese red giant dragon centipede is a species of centipede widely distributed in the subtropical and tropical regions of southern China. Because of its deep red body, the centipede is also known as “Tianlong” in ancient books. In addition to its strong body, it is named “red giant dragon”. ”. Individuals on some tropical islands close to the mainland can reach 20 cm. So what are its physical characteristics?
Chinese Red Giant Dragon Centipede
The centipede is also known as the Tianlong because of its There are many feet, so it is also known as a hundred feet. In animal classification, it belongs to the phylum Arthropoda, Polypoda, Labiopoda, and Centipede.
1. There are a pair of collective eyes on both sides of the back of the head, each pair of collective eyes includes several single eyes, and the ventral surface of the head has mouthparts, which are the feeding organs of centipedes. Head appendages include 1 pair of tentacles, 1 pair of large jaws and 2 pairs of small jaws. The head becomes the center of sensation and feeding.
2. The trunk The centipede’s trunk has 20 somites, the longer and the shorter ones are spaced apart from each other, and the appendages of the first segment are called maxillopods, which are very developed, and the distal segment is a sharp claw The poisonous claws have poisonous glands in the claws, and there is a poison gland opening at the end of the claw, which is used to poison small animals and as a weapon to defend against foreign enemies. Sections 2 to 19 each have a pair of 7-segmented appendages, called feet, which are the organs of centipedes crawling. Section 20 is where the genital pore is located, and its appendages are different from the other 19 pairs of walking legs, specifically called genital limbs. It can be seen that the structure of the centipede trunk becomes the center of movement of the centipede.
3. An important feature of the exoskeleton centipede body is the exoskeleton with chitin, which is distributed on the back of each section of the trunk is called the back plate, the abdomen is called the web, the back and the ventral plate Connected by membrane-like sheets on both sides. The exoskeleton not only has the function of protecting the internal organs and preventing the evaporation of water in the body and receiving stimulation, but also can complete various sports actions together with the attached muscles. The formation of the exoskeleton limits the continued growth and development of the centipede body, so the centipede molts during the growth process. When the centipede molts, the body secretes a chitinase that dissolves the chitin, which is the main component of the exoskeleton, thereby breaking the exoskeleton, and the entire body is drilled out of it, and the exoskeleton is re-formed. When molting, the centipede uses its head to top the main pool wall, first breaking the head plate, and then relying on its own telescopic movement to gradually peel off the body and the synchronous feet from front to back, and finally break away from the tail feet. Each molting takes 2 to 3 hours.
