第 0911 號，共 1 402 號

Peruvian giant centipede

Scolopendra gigantea

需要看醫生很少致命，但被咬了需要看醫生。

咬吃：肉

The Peruvian giant centipede is the largest centipede species in the world, growing longer than 30 centimetres. It lives in northern South America and on several Caribbean islands, mostly in rainforests and dry forests. It hunts a wide range of animals, from insects to bats, and its venom is strong enough to stop small mammals.1

分布在

Northern South America, with verified records from Aruba, Brazil, Curaçao, Colombia, Venezuela (including Margarita Island) and Trinidad1

南美洲

首頁

It lives in tropical or sub-tropical rainforest and tropical dry forest, hiding in dark, damp places such as leaf litter, under rocks and logs, and under tree bark. Near human buildings, it often hides in trash piles, rubble, plant pots, crawl spaces under buildings, under old floor and ceiling boards, and in cracks in wooden, concrete and brick walls.1

長度

30 cm (1 ft)1

最高速度

大約 2,5 km/h（1,6 mph）

在陸地上, 粗略估計

牠吃什麼？

It eats any animal it can overpower and kill, including large insects, worms, snails, spiders, scorpions, millipedes, tarantulas, small lizards, frogs, snakes, sparrow-sized birds, mice and bats. Large individuals climb cave ceilings and use a few legs to hold on while they handle heavier prey, such as bats.1

Peruvian giant centipede 的照片 — Peruvian giant centipede。照片：Katka Nemčoková。 CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.

怎麼認出牠

It is the largest centipede species in the world, with a length exceeding 30 centimetres.1
Specimens may have 21 or 23 body segments.1
Its common name refers to yellow legs.1
It climbs readily and can rest in hiding spaces under tree bark.1

毒液力量

咬

咬的時候，毒液會從毒牙或牙齒出來。

牠的毒液有什麼作用？

Its venom is strong enough to immobilise small mammals it hunts, such as bats and mice. The venom is produced in a modified pair of legs placed under the head.1

牠對人有多危險？

對人的危險: 嚴重被咬了需要看醫生。死亡案例非常罕見。

At least one human death has been linked to its venom. In 2014, a four-year-old child in Venezuela died after being bitten by a giant centipede hidden inside an open soda can. Researchers at Universidad de Oriente later confirmed the animal was this species.1

如果牠咬人

清洗咬傷處，冷敷或泡在溫水裡止痛，如果情況變糟，要就醫。

一定要先打緊急電話（112、000、911）。這是一般急救指引，不是醫療建議。急救基本知識

注意安全

絕對不要碰、抓或捉弄野生動物，就算是很小的動物，就算牠看起來在睡覺或已經死了也一樣。
給牠空間。如果遇到了，保持冷靜，慢慢往後退，讓牠自己離開。
如果被牠咬了：保持冷靜，保持不動，打緊急電話（112、000、911）或趕快去醫院。記住牠的樣子，有照片會很有幫助。

牠不是想來抓你。牠用毒液來捕捉食物或保護自己，而且牠更想躲起來。更多安全知識

在世界上的哪裡？

非洲亞洲歐洲北美洲南美洲澳洲與大洋洲

牠有多大？

牠有多長？

跟 9 塊玩具積木排成一排一樣長可以在 140 秒內跑完 100 公尺（最快的人類需要 9.6 秒）

Peruvian giant centipede 跟「你」比起來有多大？

只是在你的瀏覽器裡做算術。什麼都不會儲存，也不會傳送到任何地方。

牠有多快？

一隻陸龜 大約 0,3 km/h (0,19 mph)

Peruvian giant centipede 大約 2,5 km/h (1,6 mph)

一個正在走路的人 大約 5 km/h (3,1 mph)

值得知道

小知識

Large individuals have a clever way of catching bats: they climb cave ceilings and hold their heavier prey with only a few legs attached to the ceiling.1

It is the largest centipede species in the world, with a length exceeding 30 centimetres.1

It can overpower animals as large as tarantulas, and it can also kill snakes up to 25 centimetres long.1

Its venom comes from a modified pair of legs placed just underneath its head.1

It climbs readily and will use hiding spaces under tree bark.1

Its natural predators include large birds, spiders, and mammals that hunt arthropods, such as the coati, kinkajou and opossum.1