Halcyon giant centipede

The Halcyon giant centipede is a big centipede with a shiny greenish-black to turquoise body. It can swim and hunts along forest streams. It is the biggest centipede in Japan.

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Fun facts
It can grow to 20 centimetres long and 2 centimetres wide.
It was only described as a new species in 2021, the first new centipede found in Japan in 143 years.
It is only the third kind of Scolopendra centipede known to live partly in water.
It often hides under stones in streams.
Japan protects it so that collectors do not take too many.
Most asked questions about Halcyon giant centipede
?How big is the Halcyon giant centipede?
It can be about 20 centimetres long, the biggest centipede in Japan.
?Can the Halcyon giant centipede swim?
Yes. It lives along streams and hunts freshwater prawns in the water.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Scolopendra alcyona
- Group
- Centipedes and millipedes
- Family
- Scolopendridae
- Classification
- Chilopoda > Scolopendromorpha > Scolopendridae
- Lives on
- Asia
Where the facts come from
- Scolopendra alcyona (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by (c) ๆๆญฃๆ, some rights reserved (CC BY). CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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