''Cormocephalus rubriceps'', also known as the Hura or giant centipede, is a large

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, ...

of the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Scolopendridae Scolopendridae (or, in older documents, Scolopendridæ), from Ancient Greek σκόλοψ (''skólops''), meaning "thorn", and ἔντερον (''énteron''), meaning "earthworm", is a family of large centipedes (class Chilopoda). Description Nea ...

. It is native to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, where it is found in the North Island and on islands off the North Island. At up to 25 cm in length, it is the largest centipede in New Zealand. NZAC Pare - Giant Centipede

Taxonomy

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

Description

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

References

External links

TerraNature

LandCare

Massey University Soil Bugs

rubriceps Centipedes of Australia Centipedes of New Zealand Animals described in 1843 Centipedes of New Caledonia Taxa named by George Newport {{Centipede-stub