Underwater centipedes hunt giant shrimp

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SwordfishMining
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Underwater centipedes hunt giant shrimp

Post by SwordfishMining »

A team of biologists from Japan has discovered a new species of the genus Scolopendra living in the forests of the Ryukyu Archipelago and Taiwan. Looks just like the giant desert centipede i dig around. (The ones here are a wonderful neon greenish color & never go for you, just want back into the bank into a crack with the spiders.)
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In Japan and Taiwan, five species were known until now: Scolopendra morsitans, S. subspinipes, S. mutilans, S. japonica, and S. multidens.

Named Scolopendra alcyona, the newly-discovered species can be found in the forests of Taiwan and Japan’s Ryukyu Archipelago.

“It is also the first new centipede to be identified in Japan in 143 years,” said lead author Sho Tsukamoto of Tokyo Metropolitan University and colleagues.

“The fact that such a large invertebrate could go undiscovered until now is a reflection of the unexplored biodiversity of the Ryukyu Archipelago, and a strong case for its preservation.”

Scolopendra alcyona has a beautiful jade-colored shell, and measures 20 cm in length and 2 cm in width, making it largest centipede species in Japan and Taiwan.

The new species prefers streamside environments and hunts giant freshwater prawns.

It exhibits amphibious behavior, making it only the third amphibious Scolopendra species in the world.
more:

http://www.sci-news.com/biology/scolope ... 09582.html
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