6 Types of Centipedes in Mississippi

6 types of centipedes have a verified observation record in Mississippi. The most frequently recorded are Eastern Bark Centipede, Eastern Red Centipede and House Centipede. Here is the full list, ranked by how often each is reported on iNaturalist.

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6 types of centipedes have a verified observation record in Mississippi. The most frequently recorded are Eastern Bark Centipede, Eastern Red Centipede and House Centipede. Here is the full list, ranked by how often each is reported on iNaturalist.

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Real sighting data, source iNaturalist

515 verified observations on iNaturalist of centipede have been recorded in Mississippi, most often in March, September, February.

When centipede are recorded in Mississippi

Verified species, source iNaturalist

6 types of centipedes recorded in Mississippi

6 centipede species have a verified observation record in Mississippi, each with at least 10 confirmed sightings. The full list, ranked by how often each is recorded, is below.

2 of the 6 shown are recorded as introduced to Mississippi rather than native.

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    1

    Eastern Bark Centipede

    Hemiscolopendra marginata

    154 recordsNative
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    2

    Eastern Red Centipede

    Scolopocryptops sexspinosus

    54 recordsNative
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    3

    House Centipede

    Scutigera coleoptrata

    36 recordsIntroduced
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    4

    Big-leg Centipede

    Theatops posticus

    34 records
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    5

    Brown Centipede

    Lithobius forficatus

    21 records
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    6

    Japanese House Centipede

    Thereuonema tuberculata

    10 recordsIntroduced

Plus 5 more recorded only rarely (fewer than 10 verified sightings). Counts from verified iNaturalist observations.

The Eastern Bark Centipede (Hemiscolopendra marginata) is the most commonly recorded, with 154 verified observations, about 50% of all centipedes reported in Mississippi. If you spot a centipede here, it is statistically most likely to be this one.

Mississippi also hosts less common centipedes such as Eastern Red Centipede, House Centipede and Big-leg Centipede, each recorded fewer than 100 times. These are the species worth a second look when you are out, since a sighting is more notable.

Not every one of these is originally from here. House Centipede and Japanese House Centipede are recorded by iNaturalist as introduced in Mississippi rather than native, so they arrived with human help rather than on their own.