Bug Wiki
Sticker of Amazonian giant centipede
Bug card No. 0018 of 1,500

Amazonian giant centipede

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

The Amazonian giant centipede is the biggest centipede in the world. It can grow longer than a school ruler, more than 30 centimetres. It has a long, flat body made of many parts, with a pair of legs on each one.

Fun fact: this one is not an insect. Insects have six legs, and this cousin has many, many more.
Lives in
Northern South America and islands in the south Caribbean, in rainforests and dry tropical forests
Length
30 cm (12 in)
can be even longer
Top speed
about 4.5 km/h (2.8 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Dangerous: look, do not touch
What does it eat?
It eats almost any animal it can catch: big insects, spiders, tarantulas, frogs, lizards, small snakes, mice and even bats.
For real!Photo of Amazonian giant centipede
Picture by Katka Nemčoková. CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Amazonian giant centipede about 30 cm long (12 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)A banana about 18 cm (7.1 in)A house cat about 50 cm (20 in)
as long as 9 toy building bricks in a rowas long as 1.5 bananas end to endcould run across a dinner table in 0.8 seconds

How big is Amazonian giant centipede compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

It can climb up cave ceilings and catch bats in flight, holding on with only a few of its legs.

2

Its body has 21 or 23 parts.

3

In the daytime it hides in dark, damp places under leaves, rocks, logs or tree bark.

you asked

Most asked questions about Amazonian giant centipede

?How big is the Amazonian giant centipede?

It is the biggest centipede in the world and can be more than 30 centimetres long.

?What does a giant centipede eat?

Almost anything it can catch, from insects and spiders to frogs, mice and bats.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Scolopendra gigantea
Named by
Linnaeus, 1758
Group
Centipedes and millipedes
Family
Scolopendridae
Classification
Chilopoda > Scolopendromorpha > Scolopendridae
Lives on
South America
Also known as
Peruvian giant yellow-leg centipede

Where the facts come from

  1. Scolopendra gigantea (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 Katka Nemčoková. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at hello@bugwiki.app and we will fix it.

More from the same group: Centipedes and millipedes

Also at home here: Rainforests and jungles