A giant centipede’s many wriggling legs might be creepy. But the pair of legs not used for walking may be the most frightening.
More than 430 million years ago, the two legs nearest the mouth evolved into sharp pincers that contain venom glands. Within those glands are microscopic factories capable of manufacturing multiple toxic compounds.
Giant centipedes, which, just like spiders, are arthropods, use these tools to hunt prey — everything from crickets to snakes. But they also make for a juicy snack for other animals, forcing them to defend themselves with the same poisonous pincers.
In a paper published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, scientists revealed that the redheaded centipede — a species of giant centipede roughly the length of a ballpoint pen — is a toxic mixologist, capable of tailoring its venom recipe depending on whether it’s attacking prey or defending itself. The toxins reserved for the centipedes’ predators appear designed to cause pain, the researchers found.
The findings also may hint that venoms produced by other animals might be more complex than were previously understood.
To collect venom, scientists most often zap an animal with a nonlethal amount of electricity. The pulses contract the animals’ muscles, which squeezes out the venom. This technique is believed to release venom with all its toxic molecules, said Vanessa Schendel, who is a venom biologist at the University of Queensland in Australia and an author of the new study.
Schendel gathered centipede venom using electricity, but she also tried something bolder: She picked up centipedes to mimic a predatory attack and collected the venom that they secreted. When the team analyzed the toxins in venom collected using the two methods, they found surprising molecular differences. This meant that neither venom held all the toxins the centipedes produce.
“I thought there was something wrong,” Schendel said. But the pattern held across multiple experiments. — ANDREW CHAPMAN / NYT
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