. Animate creation : popular edition of "Our living world" : a natural history. Zoology; Zoology. THE MYRIAPODA. 521. an out-hoiise. The membei's of the genus Cermatia, or Scutigera as it is sometimes called, are spread over the hotter parts of the world, and attain their greatest dimensions under the tropics. Specimens of these sti-ange beings are found in the South of Europe, Madeira, many parts of Africa and Asia, Florida. New Holland, and Australia. The eyes of the Cermatia are unlike those of the generality of Myriapoda, the ocelli being crowded together, so that the facets assu
. Animate creation : popular edition of "Our living world" : a natural history. Zoology; Zoology. THE MYRIAPODA. 521. an out-hoiise. The membei's of the genus Cermatia, or Scutigera as it is sometimes called, are spread over the hotter parts of the world, and attain their greatest dimensions under the tropics. Specimens of these sti-ange beings are found in the South of Europe, Madeira, many parts of Africa and Asia, Florida. New Holland, and Australia. The eyes of the Cermatia are unlike those of the generality of Myriapoda, the ocelli being crowded together, so that the facets assume a hexagonal form like those of the insects and some of the Crustacea. All the Cermatiie are exceedingly active, running about on their long legs with an action that reminds the observer of the common harvest-spider. Indeed, the whole creature has very much the look of being composed of a number of harvest-spider's legs attached to the body of a centijiede. The Cermatia is carnivorous in its habits, feeding upon insects and having a great predilection for spiders. A full-grown Cermatia will attack even one of the large and formidable spiders of the tropics, and, safe in its shelly mail, succeed in killing and devouring its foe. In the striiggle it will probably lose a few legs ; but the creature is in no wise fas- tidious about its proper complement of Limbs, and loses six or seven legs with perfect indiflfer- ence, behaving in this respect like the harvest-spider, the crane-fly, and other "lang-leggit" creatures, whose affection for tlieir limbs seems to be in inverse ratio to their Sco/opendfa formosa. (Lower figure.) Scolvpiiidra iiiUa. (Uppt-f figure.) The color of the noble Cermatia is pale brown, with a yellowish line running down its centre. The limbs are strongly marked with yellowish-brown, green, and rings of blue. It seldom exceeds two inches in length. This species is found in the East Indies and in the Mauritius. A Myriapod belonging to another
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Keywords: ., bookauthorbr, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectzoology
