Scolopendra subspinipes
species of centipede
Scolopendra subspinipes is a species of very large centipede found throughout southeastern Asia. One of the most widespread and common species in the genus Scolopendra, it is also found on virtually all land areas around and within the Indian Ocean, all of tropical and subtropical Asia from Russia to the islands of Malaysia and Indonesia, Australia, South and Central America, the Caribbean islands, and possibly parts of the southern United States, but how much of this range is natural and how much due to human introduction is unclear. With a wide geographic range and numerous color variations, the species is known by many common names, including black flame centipede, Hawaiian centipede, jungle centipede, orange-legged centipede, and Vietnamese centipede.
It is among the largest centipedes with a maximum length of 20 cm (7.9 in). This centipede is an active, aggressive predator that preys on any animal it can overpower.
Description
The species is normally considered to have a maximum length of 20 cm. However, in 2018 a far larger specimen was recovered in Hawaii by Clayton Cambra, who captured what appeared to be a Scolopendra subspinipes that measured 36.6 cm in length.
It has color variations: its body is usually red or reddish brown with yellow or yellow-orange legs. In common with other members of genus Scolopendra, it has 22 body segments, with each segment having one pair of legs. A pair of modified legs known as forcipules or toxicognaths can be found on its head, which is covered by a flat shield and bears a pair of antennae.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Scolopendra subspinipes” is species of centipede. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Scolopendra, subspinipes and species, not as a finished interpretation.
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Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Dec 8, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q589378. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2018.
Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Scolopendra subspinipes” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.