Invertebrates

Centipede

Chilopoda · also called centipedes

Not Evaluated carnivore Temperate forest Temperate grassland Desert

A centipede is a fast predator wearing a lot of legs. Under its head, the first pair of legs is not for walking at all but has become a pair of curved venom claws, unique in the animal kingdom, which it uses to seize and kill everything from a woodlouse to, in the giant tropical species, a bat plucked from the air of a cave.

Overview

Centipedes are the class Chilopoda, around 3,300 species, on every continent except Antarctica. They are flattened, fast-moving carnivores of damp, dark places — leaf litter, soil, rotting wood, under stones — with a single pair of legs per body segment, long antennae, and the venom claws. They range from tiny soil centipedes to the Amazonian giant centipede at around 30 cm.

The name is a lie

“Centipede” means hundred-foot, but centipedes always have an odd number of leg-bearing segments, so the leg count is always even and never exactly one hundred — from 30 legs in common species to 382 in one. The venom claws, called forcipules, are the modified first pair of legs and are found in no other animal.

Hunters and mothers

The Amazonian giant centipede climbs cave ceilings and hangs by its rear legs to snatch bats in flight. In a large group of centipedes the female coils around her eggs and young, cleaning them for weeks to prevent mould. Centipedes are also among the oldest land animals, with fossils over 400 million years old.

Centipede vs millipede

One pair of legs per segment, flattened, fast, and predatory with venom claws — that is a centipede. Two pairs per segment, rounded, slow, and a dead-leaf eater that defends itself with chemicals — that is a millipede.

Status

Centipedes as a class are Not Evaluated. Most are common and widespread, but many cave and single-island species are poorly known and can be vulnerable to habitat disturbance, and the large tropical species are collected for the exotic pet trade.

Centipede: common questions

How many legs does a centipede actually have?

Never exactly one hundred, despite the name. Centipedes always have an odd number of leg-bearing body segments, which means the total number of legs is always an even number and cannot be one hundred, since fifty pairs would require fifty segments. Common house and garden centipedes have 15 leg-bearing segments and so 30 legs. The long soil centipedes have anywhere from about 27 to 191 pairs, and one species, Gonibregmatus plurimipes, has up to 191 pairs, or 382 legs. The house centipede, the fast one people find in bathrooms, has 15 pairs, or 30 very long legs. So a centipede is a many-legged animal, but the hundred in its name is only a rough figure.

What is the difference between a centipede and a millipede?

The clearest difference is the legs. A centipede has one pair of legs per body segment, and the legs stick out to the sides, giving the animal a flattened look and a fast, weaving run. A millipede has two pairs of legs per segment, tucked close under a rounded body, and moves slowly with a rippling wave of tiny legs. Their lifestyles match. Centipedes are agile predators with venom claws, while millipedes are slow detritivores that eat dead leaves and defend themselves with toxic or foul chemicals rather than a bite. Centipedes also have long antennae and a more distinct head, and they tend to flee the light, whereas a disturbed millipede often just curls into a spiral.

Are centipede bites dangerous?

For the small centipedes found in most temperate gardens and houses, a bite is uncommon and amounts to a sharp pinch with brief local pain, redness, and swelling, similar to a bee sting, and needs no treatment beyond cleaning the wound. The large tropical centipedes, especially the Scolopendra species that can exceed 15 to 20 cm, are a different matter. Their venom can cause intense, sometimes prolonged pain, marked swelling, and occasionally systemic effects such as fever, nausea, and a racing heart, and a small number of deaths have been recorded, usually in children or people with a severe reaction. Bites are still rarely serious, and the risk is easily avoided by not handling large centipedes.

Why do centipedes come into houses?

They are looking for the two things a house can offer, damp and prey. Centipedes lose water through their bodies quickly and cannot survive long in dry air, so they seek out humid microhabitats, and bathrooms, basements, laundries, and the space under sinks fit the bill, especially in a dry season or a cold snap outdoors. Once inside, a centipede such as the fast, long-legged house centipede will hunt silverfish, cockroach nymphs, spiders, ants, and clothes moth larvae, so it is doing free pest control. Reducing indoor humidity, sealing gaps around pipes and doors, and clearing damp clutter makes a house less attractive to them.

Sources & further reading

Written by HideShark Editorial Team · reviewed by HideShark Science Desk. Published September 10, 2026. Last updated September 10, 2026.

Quick facts

Scientific name: Chilopoda
Diet: Live prey only, mainly insects, spiders, worms, slugs, and other centipedes, with the largest tropical species taking lizards, frogs, mice, small snakes, and bats, all seized and injected with venom through the fang-like front legs and then chewed with the jaws
One pair of legs per segment: The quickest way to tell a centipede from a millipede is the legs, since a centipede has a single pair of legs on each body segment, splayed out to the sides, while a millipede has two pairs per segment, tucked underneath, and centipedes are flattened and fast where millipedes are rounded and slow
No centipede has one hundred legs: The name means hundred-foot, but centipedes always have an odd number of leg-bearing segments, so the leg count is always an even number that is never exactly one hundred, ranging from 30 legs in some common species to 382 in one Californian centipede
Venom claws made from the first pair of legs: Under the head, the first pair of legs is modified into a pair of curved, hollow, pincer-like claws called forcipules, unique to centipedes, which grip prey and inject venom from glands inside, and in the big tropical species this venom is potent enough to kill sizeable vertebrates
The largest can span a dinner plate: The Amazonian giant centipede reaches around 30 cm and hunts by climbing cave walls and hanging from the ceiling by its rear legs to snatch bats out of the air, one of very few invertebrates known to routinely prey on flying vertebrates
Devoted mothers in many species: Females of a large group of centipedes coil their body around the egg mass and then the hatchlings, cleaning them constantly to prevent mould and guarding them for weeks, and if disturbed too much a mother may eat her own brood rather than abandon it
Ancient air-breathing land animals: Centipedes are among the oldest known land animals, with fossils over 400 million years old, and the extinct millipede relative Arthropleura, up to 2.5 m long, was the largest land invertebrate that has ever lived, though true giant centipedes were never that big
Range: Every continent except Antarctica, and one of the few animal groups found on almost all land, from Arctic tundra and high mountains to hot deserts, rainforest, caves, seashores, and city gardens, always in damp, dark, sheltered places such as leaf litter, soil, rotting wood, under stones and bark, and in cracks and drains, since centipedes lose water quickly and avoid the open and the sun.
Conservation status: Not Evaluated ≈ Not assessed as a class of around 3,300 species, and most centipedes are common and widespread, but many have small ranges tied to particular caves, forests, or islands and are poorly known, and cave-dwelling and narrow-range species can be vulnerable to habitat disturbance, while the large tropical species are collected in some numbers for the exotic pet trade in the wild