Featured Image Credit: Wart Siriwut / National Geographic
By: Amanda Kelley
You can run, but you can’t hide.
And you certainly can’t swim from the hellish nightmare that is Scolopendra cataracta. S. cataracta is a newly described species of centipede, and the first of its kind.
S. cataracta is an amphibious centipede and is alone in the centipede group in its ability to swim. However, it still shares most of the horrifying character traits of the rest of the centipede group including piercing “fangs” and a highly toxic venom.
Bites from centipedes in related classifications cause a burning pain that can spread the length of the entire arm or leg if just a finger or toe is envenomated.
Something to soothe the nightmares: No one has yet to report a bite from S. cataracta. But take a look at how absolutely petrifying these things are:
The little information we know about this species was gathered from just four specimens on record at the Natural History Museum in London. One specimen was collected from Thailand by Museum entomologist, George Beccaloni. Just for fun. By hand. On his honeymoon.
Let’s take a moment to admire the man’s dedication.
Beccaloni had been overturning stones near a stream (as any good entomologist does), looking for insects when he saw the centipede dart out from under a rock and escape into the water.
After capturing it, he set the bug in a container of water and watched it dive down and undulate its body; similar to how an eel swims.
Photo Credit: Source
After bringing the insect to a team at the Museum that was working on describing a new species of centipede, it was confirmed that the centipede overlapped with the team’s current research. Beccaloni’s bug was of the same new species that was being described.
The group proposes that S. cataracta does most of its hunting at night, like other centipedes. Only instead of creeping through the grass, it swims after its prey.
Moral of the story: bug spray won’t save you now. Especially not if you’re swimming, so take care if you plan on making any spontaneous trips to Southeast Asia.