398
can anyone tell me wtf this is? (gcdnb.pbrd.co)
submitted 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) by to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml
215 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Found it dead in my dishes

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[โ€“] 13 points 2 years ago (18 children)

Dumb question but I thought centipedes had like... 95 legs or something.

The one in the op doesn't have that many. Why are people thinking it's a centipede?

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 18 child comments
    •
  • [โ€“] 12 points 2 years ago (13 children)

    They can actually range from roughly 30-350 legs! Fun fact

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 13 child comments
    •
  • [โ€“] 5 points 2 years ago (12 children)

    As far as I'm aware, if it's got upwards of 350 legs, those are called millipedes, not centipedes.

    Also, I've never in my life seen either a centipede or a millipede with legs anywhere near that long, so my mind is still stuck on WTF is that damn thing?

    Any which way you go, I'd say kill it with fire! Even though it's already dead, I wouldn't wanna take any chances if it happens to have eggs in it or possibly a parasite or anything...

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 12 child comments
    •
  • [โ€“] 15 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (7 children)

    The difference between centipedes and millipedes actually has to do with how many pairs of legs they have per body segment. Centipedes have one pair per segment, millipedes have two pairs per segment. The centipede with 354 legs is indeed a centipede (: the millipede with the most legs actually tops out around 750 legs! Pill *millipedes seem to be the smallest millipede with only 14-42 legs!

    Also, if you google pics of centipedes, there is indeed a species with terrifyingly long legs just like this picture, the house centipede.

    *pill bugs != pill millipedes, pill bugs are crustaceans apparently, cool!

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 7 child comments
    •
  • [โ€“] 3 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    No, a pill bug is not a type of millipede, they're actually crustaceans, and not closely related.

    Pill bugs used to be one of the few exclusively terrestrial crustaceans, but now almost all insects are classified as crustaceans, so, i'd have to double check the phylogenies.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
    •
  • [โ€“] 2 points 2 years ago (4 children)

    Huh, interesting. Well today I learned a little more about creepy-crawlies than I expected. Also, a pill bug is considered a type of millipede? Well hell, I never would have guessed that.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
    •
  • [โ€“] 3 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    No, a pill bug is not a type of millipede, they're actually crustaceans, and not closely related.

    Pill bugs used to be one of the few exclusively terrestrial crustaceans, but now almost all insects are classified as crustaceans, so, i'd have to double check the phylogenies.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
    •
  • [โ€“] 6 points 2 years ago

    So while I'm sure there are thousands of different kinds of milli- amd centipedes, in general:

    • Millipedes have shorter legs
    • Millipedes are slow. Like, slow enough to see them move unlike centipedes, creepy bastards
    • Millipedes are vegetarians, and while crushing them can be bad news, they don't bite
    • Millipedes look kinda like long pill-bugs, whereas centipedes look like hell had a nightmare and it was given flesh and form
  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent