Many-legged terrors

 Mysterious large centipedes around the world

  If there are some creatures that have inspired humanity since time immemorial, it has been the arthropods, especially centipedes, which star in various superstitions and legends, these have been one of the creatures that have most suggested and made humanity feel terrified since ancient times.

But in addition to these legends, there are beliefs about giant centipedes in modern times, it is known that they existed before us, but currently the planet no longer presents conditions for these beings...or are we wrong?, Come with me to see the following cases and let your imagination fly with them, as always you have the final criterion.

ozark giant centipede

  It is a strange type of large invertebrate, presumably an inhabitant of the Ozark Mountains, a wide strip of mountainous relief that covers Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma in the American West, this animal inhabiting the region between southern Missouri and northern Arkansas.

                   [Images of the area]

The first reliable mention of these beings was in the 19th century by the prolific Arkansas chronicler Silas Claiborn Turnbo, in his work "chronicles of white river", where I document and compile anecdotes and relevant events from that area usually described as a huge centipede 30 to 40 cm long, bright red in color and predatory habits, Being an animal capable of killing large animals with its poison and has a strange habit of devouring deer, and in some dark stories, human beings.

It is said in the regions near the mountains of that region that there was a specimen that was preserved and exhibited in a pharmacy in that town, But it ended up lost or stolen during the heat of the American Civil War.

according to the author it was a giant centipede, in the words of Silas, among a strange collection of insects, lizards and horned frogs, but among these the centipede stood out, which surprised him when he saw it, measuring 45 cm long and with an appearance like the one we already said, according to the writer's words, it was the largest he saw in his life.

Maybe and just maybe they exist or existed, but until some vestige is found to prove it or the piece that the writer saw appears, it only remains a half-reality, although even so, It wouldn't be surprising if something like this was wandering around, especially for a reason we'll see later.

Also as an addition, the Mayan people spoke of the legend of ek chapat, a creature similar to the centipede, of which I will leave a link so you can read its complete story..

Asian giant centipede.

               [Imagen de la selva vietnamita]

  On the Asian continent, there have been several reports of giant centipedes in various parts, the most famous, but with poor interpretation, were the reports of giant centipedes during the Vietnam War, reported by US soldiers, who said that a huge centipede always came out of the jungle and attacked the soldiers, causing serious damage due to its poison, and in fact an alleged photograph of these is circulating on the internet, here we have it:

But is this photograph real? Well, there is a lot of speculation about it, and according to analysis, yes, it is a verified photo, but at the same time it is not, since the centipede is suffering from a perspective effect due to the camera, even so, it is strange, since it is not possible to distinguish what species it is, but still, we can say that it would still be quite large, perhaps being a member of the native species of Vietnamese centipedes, also known for their aggressiveness, (I leave you a link with a more detailed analysis).

Also, the newspaper The China Mail, in its edition of March 19, 1948, reported how a strange 60 cm giant centipede was killed in Kowloon, Hong Kong, in addition to this report, over the years there have been reports and mentions of centipedes at least 30 cm long, living in this area, although due to China's secrecy the information is quite scarce.

Giant centipedes of South America  

  According to unconfirmed records from the Guinness Book of Animal Records and Animal Tricks in the 1889 edition, the largest recorded centipedes would have lived in South America, these coming from a fairly reliable witness.

According to them, in past years individuals measuring 30.5 and 38.5 would have been collected in the Guyana jungle during scientific expeditions, However, the strangest statement was made by the illustrious Prussian naturalist and geographer Alexander von Humboldt, who claimed to have seen centipedes up to 45.7 cm long, Living in the Venezuelan jungle, explorer Percy Fawcett also claimed to have seen giant centipedes in the Amazon, more than 40 cm long.

[Portrait of Von Humboldt]

These claims to date remain a complete mystery, but now the question is, is it possible?...

Final analysis...

  Possible if it is, because we know well that centipedes can reach quite large sizes, even species that are average, although this It has always occurred in captivity, perhaps a combination of food and good conditions will allow it to reach larger sizes than we are used to.

I also cannot rule out that they are individuals of already known species, only mutated and larger, or even new species that have not yet been described, let us remember that until recently the giant marine centipede of Japan was discovered, but well, most of these cases come from the 19th century, so it would be difficult to verify, even so, these cases are quite striking and deserve to be remembered like all those on this blog.

[Reading links]

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/giant-jungle-centipede-real/

https://itsmth.fandom.com/wiki/Giant_Centipede

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/giant-jungle-centipede-real/

https://www.livescience.com/swimming-centipede-japan.html

https://sipse.com/novedades-yucatan/leyendas-mayas-temido-monstruo-ek-chapat-142434.html