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Sticker of Blue keeled centipede
Bug card No. 0535 of 4,939

Blue keeled centipede

Otostigmus scaber
Eats: Other bugs and small animalsCentipedes and millipedesRainforests and junglesNot an insect, but a bug cousin

The blue keeled centipede is a fast, many-legged hunter. It lives on warm islands and in countries all around the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Like all centipedes, it has one pair of legs on each part of its long body.

Fun fact: this one is not an insect. Insects have six legs, and this cousin has many, many more.
Lives in
From Réunion and the Indian Ocean islands through southern Asia to Taiwan, Vietnam and Hawaii
Top speed
about 1.5 km/h (0.93 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Can bite

Centipedes are venomous! Read about centipede venom on Venom Wiki →

For real!Photo of Blue keeled centipede
Picture by kbkash. CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

It lives across a huge area, from the island of Réunion near Africa all the way to Hawaii.

2

It is also found on the tiny Cocos Islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

you asked

Most asked questions about Blue keeled centipede

?Where does the blue keeled centipede live?

On islands and in countries from the Indian Ocean through southern Asia to Hawaii.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Otostigmus scaber
Group
Centipedes and millipedes
Family
Scolopendridae
Classification
Chilopoda > Scolopendromorpha > Scolopendridae
Lives on
Africa, Asia, Australia and Oceania

Where the facts come from

  1. Otostigmus scaber (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 kbkash. CC0, 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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