The Centipedes and the Millipedes
are nearly all long and slender animals with many body segments
and numerous legs. They were once lumped together into a single
group known as the Myriapoda. This name means 'many feet' and
it was a very apt one for these animals. It is still quite
a useful term although it is now realised that the centipedes
and millipedes are not closely related and they are now put
into their own separate classes. The centipedes belong to the
class Chilopoda and the millipedes belong to the class Diplopoda.
There are many differences to the habits of these two groups,
but the most obvious is in the arrangement of the legs: centipedes
have one pair of legs on each body segment, whilst millipedes
have two sets of legs on nearly every segment.
Centipedes are all relatively slender animals, several or many
times longer than they are broad. The British species range
from 5 mm to about 70 mm in length and their colours vary from
pale yellow through to deep brown. Their bodies are always
distinctly flattened. Although, like all arthropods, the centipedes
are covered with a tough outer coat, they lack a waterproof
layer and they are confined to moist areas where there is no
danger of drying up. Many live in the soil and leaf litter,
while those that hunt freely on the ground are strictly nocturnal
and spend the day hiding under logs and stones where they can
keep moist.
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