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Sticker of Peregrine stone centipede
Bug card No. 3306 of 4,939

Peregrine stone centipede

Lithobius peregrinus
Eats: Other bugs and small animalsCentipedes and millipedesGardens and meadowsNot an insect, but a bug cousin

The peregrine stone centipede is a small, quick centipede that lives in soil and fallen leaves. It hunts alone, scurrying about after tiny creatures. It has travelled so far that it now lives all around the world.

Fun fact: this one is not an insect. Insects have six legs, and this cousin has many, many more.
Lives in
All around the world, in soil and leaf litter. It was first found in Croatia
Top speed
about 1.5 km/h (0.93 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless

Watch out! Read about its close cousin on Venom Wiki →

What does it eat?
It is a hunter and catches tiny animals in the soil and leaf litter.
For real!Photo of Peregrine stone centipede
Picture by Ganske A-S, Edgecombe GD, Akkari N (2018) The peristomatic structures as a source of systematic characters in the genus Lithobius Leach, 1814 (Myriapoda, Chilop. CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

Its name peregrinus means wanderer, a good name for a centipede found all over the world.

2

It was first described in 1880 by an Austrian scientist named Robert Latzel.

3

The very first one described came from Dalmatia, on the coast of Croatia.

you asked

Most asked questions about Peregrine stone centipede

?Where does the peregrine stone centipede live?

All around the world, in soil and under fallen leaves.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Lithobius peregrinus
Named by
Latzel, 1880
Group
Centipedes and millipedes
Family
Lithobiidae
Classification
Chilopoda > Lithobiomorpha > Lithobiidae
Lives on
Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Australia and Oceania

Where the facts come from

  1. Lithobius peregrinus (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Ganske A-S, Edgecombe GD, Akkari N (2018) The peristomatic structures as a source of systematic characters in the genus Lithobius Leach, 1814 (Myriapoda, Chilop. 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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