Hi my friend who lives in Taiwan was surprised with this centipede falling from her air duct onto her bed. Does anyone know what kind of centipede this is exactly? She just wants to make sure it's not extremely harmful. Thanks for any information you may have.
This centipede is in the family Scolopendridae; it looks like a Rhysida sp. - see http://tinyurl.com/2vfg56r for an example. Large specimens can give a painful but not dangerous bite if mishandled. Years ago in Texas, I was bitten by a 4" scolopendrid while trying to move it from a collecting jar; the bite was very painful and raised a large wheal, but within 24 hours, no sign of the bite remained.
