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Mukade: Difference between revisions
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====Entomology==== | ====Entomology==== | ||
[[Image:MuKaDe.gif|right]] | [[Image:MuKaDe.gif|right]] | ||
The mukade is a Japanese variety of centipede known for being big and nasty. | The mukade is a Japanese variety of centipede known for being big and nasty. As you see on the right, "mukade" doesn't have a kanji of its own, instead being written with three pictograms meaning "a hundred feet". So it means "centipede" quite literally. | ||
Its Latin name is ''[[wp:Scolopendra japonica|Scolopendra japonica]]''; here's [https://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/200501/16/81/c0034881_1625357.jpg a big picture] of one. Their length is on average {{Length|10|cm|in}}, but they can grow up to {{Length|20|cm|in}}. | |||
Its Latin name is ''[[wp:Scolopendra japonica|Scolopendra japonica]]''; [https://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/200501/16/81/c0034881_1625357.jpg | |||
;Random forum comment: | ;Random forum comment: | ||
:'''''Mukade??? They are among the most horrible things on earth. They are giant centipedes that leave huge welts when they bite. And they are fast. I had more than a few in my place. They liked to hang out in my sink drain and they'd come out whenever I turned the tap on.''''' | :'''''Mukade??? They are among the most horrible things on earth. They are giant centipedes that leave huge welts when they bite. And they are fast. I had more than a few in my place. They liked to hang out in my sink drain and they'd come out whenever I turned the tap on.''''' | ||
There are lots of other thrilling comments like that one on quite a lot of forums from people who've lived in Japan. | There are lots of other thrilling comments like that one on quite a lot of forums from people who've lived in Japan. The defunct Takipedia [http://web.archive.org/web/20080905135208/http://www.takipedia.org/wiki/Mukade described] the mukade's variations this way: | ||
:'''''There are hundreds of types of mukade in the family, however the most common mukade in Japan are the tobizu 鳶頭, the aozu 青頭 and the akazu 赤頭. The tobizu has a black body and a distinct red head and yellow legs. It would probably be quite hard to miss one of these beauties crawling along your ceiling. | :'''''There are hundreds of types of mukade in the family, however the most common mukade in Japan are the tobizu 鳶頭, the aozu 青頭 and the akazu 赤頭. The tobizu has a black body and a distinct red head and yellow legs. It would probably be quite hard to miss one of these beauties crawling along your ceiling. | ||
You can find more | They are known for being aggressive. You can find more information about mukade on [http://web.archive.org/web/20050618073622/http://homepage.mac.com/swhenneberry/OnMyMind/C40673818/E1060299329/ this bygone blog] from an American living in Japan who was bitten by one while sleeping. (He has not yet died from nighttime mukade attacks and now blogs [https://www.stephen.henneberry.net/about/ here].) According to that page, the mukade can "see" you in the dark by sensing your vibrations. | ||
Speaking of vision, many centipedes do not have eyes, and some do not even have photosensitive eyespots, so how do they see at all? Scientists only [https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/02/how-to-see-without-eyes-or-a-protein-that-senses-light/ determined in 2022] that the Chinese red- | Speaking of vision, many centipedes do not have eyes, and some do not even have photosensitive eyespots, so how do they see at all? Scientists only [https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/02/how-to-see-without-eyes-or-a-protein-that-senses-light/ determined in 2022] that the Chinese red-headed centipede, a close cousin of the mukade, "sees" light by sensing heat. This was not obvious before now because the amount of light that they can sense is well below the amount that should heat them up. Apparently their antennae have a special property that causes them to heat up quickly under light ({{Temp|8|C|0|r}} in 10 seconds, in one experiment), and the centipede then responds to that peculiar heat. This mechanism has never been observed in the animal kingdom before and is still under investigation. Whether this form of "vision" is used by the Japanese mukade is not clear at present. | ||
====Mythology==== | ====Mythology==== | ||