Both a tongue twister and an entertaining question for kids. How many legs do centipedes have? Any child will answer - forty. But no, not forty at all. How is it, it was always forty, since childhood it has gone.
Let's talk about what centipedes are. What are they. And we will answer the main question, seemingly known to all of us from an early age.
Centipede is…
A multi-legged insect whose body is quite long. There are several types of these creatures. Some of them grow up to 30 cm in length, while others live a few centimeters in size for their entire short life.
There are significant differences between centipedes, not only in size. It's the look, the lifestyle and, of course, the number of legs.
The structure of the body is as follows: the smallest representatives of the species have about 10 body segments. The fact is that the body of an insect is delimited into segments. And in those centipedes, whose "height" is 30 cm, the number of these same segments sometimes reaches 173. Each of them has one pair of legs that are located on the sides of the calf. legspretty short. How many legs do the smallest and largest centipedes have? This is easy to calculate if you know the number of insect body segments.
Interesting facts
It would seem that what is interesting in an insect that cannot figure out the number of its own legs? However, in the life of centipedes, there are such facts that it is impossible not to tell.
- These creatures are not indifferent to high humidity. They can calmly start up in those houses and apartments, the humidity in which the insect likes.
- How many pairs of legs do centipedes have? It is difficult to answer this question, because the number of legs they have is odd.
- The scientific name of the insect is scolopendra.
- Scolopendra - that's another thing. She can be quite dangerous. What is the danger of such a baby? That it is poisonous.
- They inject poison into their prey.
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Are centipedes dangerous for an adult? Oddly enough, yes. Meetings with some of the representatives of scolopendra can be fatal for humans.
- Centipedes are especially dangerous - "new settlers" who choose people as neighbors and decide to move to their apartments for permanent residence.
- Only one individual with an even number of legs has been found in nature.
- Despite their formidable qualities, centipedes are excellent house cleaners from cockroaches and other nasty insects.
- The onethe centipede, reaching a length of 30 cm, is also called the giant Amazonian centipede. Found in South America. This young lady is very nervous, when frightened, she is able to jump high. And it feeds on insects, lizards, mice and birds. Not the most inspiring diet. If such an individual bites a person, then the latter does not face a fatal outcome. But the poisoning will be there.
- How many legs do centipedes have? A little more, and the secret will be revealed.
The Biggest Question
How many pairs of legs do centipedes have? The answer to this question will be known in a few seconds.
So, attention. Centipedes have 15 to 346 legs. Here's how. And not forty at all, as it turned out.
How many pairs of legs do 40 centipedes have? Even if we take the minimum, that is, 15 legs, as a basis, simple arithmetic will help us. Multiply 15 by 40 and get 600. An impressive figure, however.
Conclusion
We found out how many legs centipedes have. And there were not forty of them at all. And from 15 to 346, depending on the size of the centipede.
