How many legs does a centipede have?
The word ‘centipede‘ is derived from the Latin word ‘centipeda‘ and literally means ‘100 feet’. Like millipedes, however, their name is not a true indication of their foot number. The number of legs on a centipede varies from species to species, and each arthropod may have between 15 and 191 pairs (or up to 382 legs in total).
How many legs does a centipede have?
Although their name literally means “one hundred feet,” centipedes can range anywhere from 10 to about 300 feet. Oddly enough, you’ll never find one with exactly 100 legs because they only have an odd number of pairs.
While the word centipede literally means “100-foot“, most centipedes do not have 100 feet. The number of legs of a centipede depends on the number of body segments that make up its body, and this number varies by species. Centipedes usually have one pair of legs per segment.
A fully equipped adult centipede may have 15 to 177 pairs of legs. Members of the orders Lithobiomorpha and Scutigeromorpha have 15 pairs of legs. Unlike other centipede species, Scutigera have long, multi-expressed, hairy legs, which enable them to establish a solid grip on the ground and move very quickly. However, Scutigera centipedes are not able to push themselves into soil or detritus. House centipedes have a rounded proboscis with long, delicate legs, while geophilomorphs have long, slender bodies with 177 pairs of short legs. Colored scolopendromorphs have between 21 and 23 pairs of legs.