Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Chilopoda (Centipedes)

Centipedes have many body segments and each segment has one pair of legs. The number of leg bearing segments, and thus pairs of legs, is in the range from 15 to 177 and is always an odd number. Instead of legs on the first body segment, centipedes have a pair of venomous fangs which are used for hunting food and defence. Some species can give humans a painful bite. The head has the mouth parts and a pair of antennae. Some species have a pair of simple or multifaceted eyes. Centipedes are mainly nocturnal or below ground hunters and typically shy away from light but some species may be active in daylight as well. They are primarily carnivorous and larger species will take small vertebrates including mammals, birds and reptiles. Centipedes do not have a waxy waterproof layer on their cuticle so their habitat tends to be limited to damp or moist environments generally in soil, among leaf litter in bush and forests, or in rotting timber.