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Cormocephalus rubriceps

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(Redirected from New Zealand giant centipede)

Cormocephalus rubriceps
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Myriapoda
Class: Chilopoda
Order: Scolopendromorpha
Family: Scolopendridae
Genus: Cormocephalus
Species:
C. rubriceps
Binomial name
Cormocephalus rubriceps
(Newport, 1843)

Cormocephalus rubriceps, also known as the Hura[1][2] or giant centipede,[3] is a large centipede of the family Scolopendridae. It is native to Australia and New Zealand, where it is found in the North Island and on islands off the North Island.[3] At up to 25 cm in length, it is the largest centipede in New Zealand.

Giant Centipede carved or pare carved on display at the New Zealand Arthropod Collection at Landcare Research, Auckland.

Taxonomy

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Cormocephalus rubriceps

This species was given its Latin name by George Newport in 1843 as Scolopendra rubriceps.[4] Newport published a description of the species under that name in 1845.[5]

Description

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This species is very large, sometimes exceeding 10cm in length. The body is typically dark red while the legs are coloured yellow fading into green.[6]

References

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  1. ^ "hura". Māori dictionary. 2021. Archived from the original on 2017-04-12. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  2. ^ Miller, David (1952). "The Insect People of the Maori". The Journal of the Polynesian Society. 61 (1/2): 1–61. ISSN 0032-4000. JSTOR 20703320.
  3. ^ a b "Giant centipede". Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
  4. ^ Newport, George (February 1844). "XIII.— A List of the species of Myriapoda, Order Chilopoda, contained in the Cabinets of the British Museum, with synoptic descriptions of forty-seven new Species". Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 13 (82): 94–101. doi:10.1080/03745484409442576. ISSN 0374-5481.
  5. ^ Newport, George (1845). "Monograph of the Class Myriapoda, Order Chilopoda". Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. 19 (4): 349–440. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1842.tb00370.x – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  6. ^ Archey, G. "Notes on New Zealand Chilopoda". Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 53: 181–195.
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