''Cormocephalus coynei'' is a species of

centipede Centipedes (from Neo-Latin , "hundred", and Latin , "foot") are predatory arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda (Ancient Greek , ''kheilos'', "lip", and Neo-Latin suffix , "foot", describing the forcipules) of the subphylum Myriapoda, ...

found on the uninhabited Phillip and Nepean islands to the south of

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island ( , ; ) is an States and territories of Australia, external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head, New South Wales, Evans Head and a ...

. It is also known as the Phillip Island centipede. The species was observed on

Phillip Island Phillip Island (Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung: ''Corriong'', ''Worne'' or ''Millowl'') is an Australian island about south-southeast of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria. The island is named after Arthur Phillip, Governor Arthur P ...

in 1792, but was not formally described until 1984. It can grow up to 23.5 cm, and is reddish brown and orange in colour. The Phillip Island centipede is known for its habit of preying on vertebrates including

gecko Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates. They range from . Geckos are unique among lizards ...

skink Skinks are a type of lizard belonging to the family (biology), family Scincidae, a family in the Taxonomic rank, infraorder Scincomorpha. With more than 1,500 described species across 100 different taxonomic genera, the family Scincidae is one o ...

s, black-winged petrel ('' Pterodroma nigripennis'') nestlings, and fish, as well as other small arthropods. The centipede may consume petrel chicks at a rate between ~2100 and ~3730 nestlings per year, across the island's

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of centipedes. It is theorized that the centipede was able to enter this

ecological niche In ecology, a niche is the match of a species to a specific environmental condition. Three variants of ecological niche are described by It describes how an organism or population responds to the distribution of Resource (biology), resources an ...

due to the absence of endemic mammalian predators on the island.

References

coynei Centipedes of Australia Animals described in 1984 Endemic fauna of Australia Fauna of Norfolk Island {{Centipede-stub