Terrifying venomous swimming centipede discovered by scientists
In a world first, scientists say they have discovered a massive amphibious centipede that also has an excruciating bite. NBD.
The centipede, dubbed Scolopendra cataracta, was discovered in Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, and can grow up to 20 centimeters long, or about eight inches for my fellow confused Americans, National Geographic reports.
Although the creepy crawly was spotted by entomologist George Beccaloni in 2001 on his honeymoon, full documentation of the living nightmare was only recently published in science journal Zoo Keys.
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Beccaloni tells National Geographic that he discovered the horrifying swimmer by simply lifting a rock near a stream. However, when he uncovered the centipede, it ran towards the river rather than the forest.
“It was pretty horrific-looking: very big with long legs and a horrible dark, greenish-black color,” Beccaloni told National Gepgraphic.
Eventually, Beccaloni caught the centipede and brought it back to the Natural History Museum in London for further analysis from experts. Because scolopendra are usually found in dry climates, the expert was skeptical and the specimen sat on a shelf until Gregory Edgecombe and his students found two new centipedes near waterfalls in Laos. This is where the centipede gets its name — Scolopendra is a general group of giant centipedes and cataracta is Latin for “waterfall."
After some collaboration and DNA testing, it was determined that this was indeed a new species, the same that Beccaloni discovered in 2001 on his honeymoon. Additionally, researchers found that the Natural History Museum in London already housed a Scolopendra cataracta, which was discovered in 1928 in Vietnam but was wrongly identified as a more common species.
Fortunately, the venomous centipede isn't likely to kill you, but it will certainly hurt.
“All large Scolopendra can deliver a painful bite, the 'fang' of the venom-delivery system being able to pierce our skin,” Edgecombe told National Geographic.
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