watch the fight live and for free at Saturday, October 18, 2008
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October 3, 2008 - HBO Sports is presenting a thirty-minute special analyzing the upcoming HBO Pay-Per-View showdown between two of boxings most accomplished fighters: Kelly Pavlik and Bernard Hopkins. Their intriguing ring battle is set for Saturday, Oct. 18 in Atlantic City at Boardwalk Hall.
The special, COUNTDOWN TO PAVLIK-HOPKINS, which will feature fighter profiles, expert analysis and forecasts for the light heavyweight matchup, will premiere on the main service on Saturday, Oct. 11 at
12:00 midnight ET/PT.
Hopkins (48-5-1, 32 KOs), a Philadelphia native, is destined for the Hall of Fame and is looking to cement his legacy with a win over the man who has followed in his footprint to become the worlds dominant middleweight performer. Pavlik (34-0, 30 KOs) had a meteoric rise in 2007 and the Youngstown , Ohio native has not slowed down the pace in 2008. The encounter with Hopkins will mark his third fight of the year and the third time in his pro career that he is headlining a bout at the venerable Atlantic City venue.
The countdown special will also be available to HBO ON DEMAND subscribers 24 hours a day from Monday, October 13 through Monday, October 27.
Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins (born January 15, 1965, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American boxer. He is best known for his ten year reign as Middleweight World Champion in which he defended his title a record 20 times and also becoming the oldest man ever to hold the Middleweight Championship of Earth.
Background
Born to Bernard Hopkins Sr. and his wife Shirley. Hopkins turned to crime early in his life, by the age of thirteen he was mugging people and had been stabbed three times. At seventeen Hopkins was sentenced to 18 years in prison for nine felonies. While in prison he witnessed rapes and the murder of another inmate in an argument over a pack of cigarettes, but also discovered his passion for boxing.After serving almost five years, Hopkins was released from prison and decided to use boxing as an escape from his previous life.
Professional career
He immediately joined the professional boxing ranks as a light heavyweight, losing his debut on October 11, 1988, in Atlantic City, New Jersey to Clinton Mitchell. After a sixteen-month layoff, he resumed his career as a middleweight, winning a unanimous decision over Greg Paige on February 22, 1990.
Between February 1990 and September 1992, Hopkins scored 20 wins without a loss. He won 15 of those fights by knockout, 11 coming in the first round.
Roy Jones Jr.
His first chance at a world title came on May 22, 1993 in Washington, DC, against American great Roy Jones Jr. for the vacant IBF middleweight belt. Hopkins lost by unanimous decision in a tactical bout. However he retained his world ranking and defended his USBA belt three more times.
Winning the IBF middleweight championship
Jones abandoned the middleweight ranks in 1994, and the IBF came again knocking at Hopkins’s door on December 17 of that year, matching him with Segundo Mercado in Mercado’s hometown of Quito, Ecuador. Mercado knocked Hopkins down twice before Hopkins rallied late and earned a draw. This remains the only time Hopkins has ever been knocked down. The fight was also contested in a bull ring and in the midst of the civil war of Ecuador. Hopkins was also not properly acclimated to the altitude of nearly 10,000 feet.
April 29, 1995, Hopkins became a world champion with a seventh-round technical knockout victory in Landover, Maryland.
In his first title defense he defeated Steve Frank, whom he stopped in twenty-four seconds. By the end of 2000, he had defended the IBF title 12 times without a loss, while beating such standouts as John David Jackson, Glen Johnson (undefeated at the time and later went on to knock out Roy Jones Jr), Simon Brown, and Antwun Echols.
2001 middleweight unification tournament
The arrival of multiple-division champion Félix Trinidad, a Welterweight into the middleweight ranks set off a series of unification fights between major titleholders. The fights involved in the tournament would be reigning IBF Middleweight Champion, Bernard Hopkins. WBC Middleweight Champion, Keith Holmes. WBA Middleweight Champion, William Joppy. The fourth contestant was former Welterweight & Light Middleweight World Champion and the undefeated Félix Trinidad.
Keith Holmes
On April 14, 2001, Hopkins won a unanimous decision over WBC champion Keith Holmes in New York City. Trinidad, however, knocked out Middleweight mainstay William Joppy in an impressive five rounds. This led to many to believe that Felix Trinidad was simply too much, too strong for Bernard Hopkins.
Felix Trinidad
Then, on September 29, WBA champion Trinidad challenged Hopkins for middleweight unification in Madison Square Garden.
For the first time in many years, Hopkins was an underdog in the betting which led the confident Hopkins to place a $100,000 bet on himself to win the bout. During promotion for the bout, Bernard Hopkins caused huge controversy by throwing the Puerto Rico flag on the floor leading to a riot in which Hopkins had to be escorted from the arena.
By the time the fight was here, Bernard Hopkins was on his way to a lopsided decision victory when, in the 12th and final round, he floored Trinidad and referee Steve Smoger called a halt to the fight after Trinidad’s father entered the ring to stop the fight. It was the first loss of Trinidad’s career, and made Hopkins the first undisputed world middleweight champion since Marvin Hagler in 1987. The Ring magazine and the World Boxing Hall of Fame named Hopkins as the 2001 Fighter of the Year.
Undisputed middleweight champion
He defended the undisputed title six times. Hopkins bested Carl Daniels on February 2, 2002, by tenth-round technical knockout; Morrade Hakkar on March 29, 2003, by eighth-round TKO; William Joppy on December 13, 2003, by unanimous decision; and Robert Allen on June 5, 2004, also by unanimous decision.
Oscar De La Hoya
In the highest paying fight of his career, Hopkins fought six-division titleholder Oscar de la Hoya, another welterweight for the undisputed middleweight championship on September 18, 2004, in Las Vegas. Hopkins won the bout with a knockout in the ninth round and thus became the first boxer ever to unify the titles of all four major sanctioning bodies.
In November 2004 de la Hoya invited Hopkins to join his boxing promotional firm, Golden Boy Promotions, as president of its new East Coast chapter.
Reaching Number 20 - Howard Eastman
Aged 40 years old, an age in which most boxers are retired. Bernard Hopkins reached the middleweight record of 20 title defenses on February 19, 2005, against ranked #1 WBC Middleweight contender Howard Eastman, the European middleweight champion. Hopkins dominated the fight from start to finish winning 119-110, 117-111 & 116-112
Losing The Titles - Hopkins vs. Taylor I & II
In his next fight on July 16, 2005, Hopkins lost his undisputed middleweight championship to Jermain Taylor via split decision.
On December 3, 2005, Hopkins lost his rematch against Jermain Taylor by unanimous decision. All three judges scored the fight 115-113 for Taylor.
Moving Up To Light Heavyweight - Antonio Tarver
Following his two losses to Jermaine Taylor, Hopkins at 41 decided not to retire and made the decision to jump two weight divisions to face off against The Ring light heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver on June 10, 2006. Going into the fight, Tarver was a 3-to-1 favorite and had been the first man ever to knock Roy Jones Jr. out, he also defeated Jones Jr. in the rematch with many now placing Tarver among the sports top competitors. He was constantly ranked in the P4P rankings. However, Bernard Hopkins picked up a lopsided unanimous decision, scoring 118-109 on all three judges scorecards.
Antonio Tarver also lost a $250,000 bet with Hopkins, after he failed to stop Hopkins in the first six rounds.
Return in 2007 - Winky Wright
On July 21, 2007, at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Hopkins defended The Ring light heavyweight championship against former undisputed junior middleweight champion Winky Wright. During the weigh-in, Hopkins shoved Wright with an open-hand to the face, igniting a brawl between both fighters entourages.Hopkins was fined $200,000 for instigating the brawl.Hopkins struggled to figure out Wright in the early rounds, but began landing effective punches as the fight progressed.An accidental head butt opened a nasty cut by Wright’s left eye in the third round. Referee Robert Byrd warned Hopkins repeatedly for using his head, but he never deducted a point. Hopkins looked fresh late in the bout, luring Wright in and snapping off combinations. In the final round, Hopkins wobbled Wright with a right hand as blood streaked down his cheek. Hopkins prevailed with a unanimous decision victory by scores of 117-111, 117-111 and 116-112.
Joe Calzaghe
On April 19, 2008, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Hopkins lost The Ring light heavyweight championship to Joe Calzaghe by split decision.Hopkins got off to a great start by knocking Calzaghe down with a straight right hand in the first round. Hopkins mostly threw one punch at a time and often initiated clinches to prevent Calzaghe from punching in combinations. The first half of the fight had lots of hitting and holding, but Calzaghe slowly landing flurries of short quick punches. In the end, judges Chuck Giampa (116-111) and Ted Gimza (115-112) scored the fight for Calzaghe, while judge Adalaide Byrd (114-113) scored the fight for Hopkins.
After the fight, Hopkins was upset with the official decision and said that he was robbed of a clear points win. Hopkins said, “I just really feel like I took the guy to school. I feel like I made him fight my fight, not his. I wanted him to run into my shots. I think I made him do that, and I think I made it look pretty easy. I think I controlled the pace, and I controlled the fight.”
Kelly Pavlik
On July 17, 2008, ESPN.com reported that Pavlik promoter Bob Arum reached a deal with Golden Boy Promotions, securing an October 18, 2008 fight between Kelly Pavlik and Bernard Hopkins, the former undisputed Middleweight champion, Ring Magazine Light Heavyweight champion, and top ten pound-for-pound mainstay. The non-title fight took place at a catch-weight of 170 lbs., five pounds below the Light Heavyweight limit. The fight aired on HBO pay-per-view, with Hopkins defeating the then-undefeated Pavlik via unanimous decision.
A tribute video I put together of my 2nd favorite fighter, former undispute Middleweight champion (made 20 title defense) and former Undisputed Light-heavyweight champion.
Bernard Hopkins retired with a record of 47-4-1-1 NC (32 kos)
SARAH PALIN on Saturday Night Live (SNL) Wants to use her Lifeline.Tina Fey plays off the CBS Katie Couric’s interview. Obama wins debate over McCain. Palin proclaims she can see Russia from her backyard qualifies her as expert. RULA BROWN & Obama.
Sarah Palin played by Tina Fey and Katie Couric. Sarah wants to user her lifeline as a saviour for her lack of knowledge of basic stuff. We should all be feeling sorry for her. 9/28 Daily Kos R2K Tracking Poll: Obama 50, McCain 43
by DemFromCT
Sun Sep 28, 2008 at 04:54:13 AM PDT
Today’s Daily Kos Research 2000 tracking poll has Obama up over McCain 50-43. All trackers are data from three days prior to posting, with R2K from today (yesterday) and the others from yesterday. Trackers will start to reflect Friday’s debate performance today, but fully reflect it Tuesday. Obama McCain MoE +/- RV/LV
Yesterday’s polling, the first after the debate, was the strongest Obama day picked up by the R2K tracking poll. He led 51-42, and therefore, Obama had a +9 on Sa to go with +5 Th, +7 Fri (MoE +/- 5.1 for individual days.) Sarah Palin’s fav/unfav are now -10 (40/50), and Obama is +27 (his improvement is via dropping his unfav to 32.)
Joceyln S. Kirsch (b. 1985) and Edward Kyle Anderton(b. 1982) are a former Philadelphia-area couple who in November 2007 were arrested on charges alleging that they perpetrated a complex identity theft scheme.Police alleged that between November 2006 and November 2007, the couple obtained nearly $120,000 in cash and merchandise using credit cards, bank account information, and personal documents stolen in burglaries from friends, neighbors, and others.In May 2008, Kirsch signed an agreement to plead guilty to “two counts of aggravated identity theft, money laundering, bank fraud and other charges”. On Oct. 17, 2008 she was sentenced to five years in prison and a five year probation. She also was sentenced to make restitution in the amount of just over $100,000.Anderton accepted a similar plea bargain and is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 14, 2008.
Kirsch was a senior at Drexel University at the time of the arrests, and Anderton is a 2005 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.The pair’s arrest received extensive media coverage, particularly about the expensive merchandise and vacations that the couple paid for with the stolen money.The combination of their criminal actions and romantic relationship has prompted the nickname of “Bonnie and Clyde” in reference to the 1930s outlaw couple.
Sentencing
Jocelyn “Bonnie” Kirsch gets 5 years for ID-theft scams By Emilie Lounsberry
Inquirer Staff Writer
Jocelyn S. Kirsch - half of Philadelphia’s infamous pair of identity-theft scammers known as “Bonnie and Clyde” - was sentenced yesterday to five years in prison by a judge who said her crimes were born of “greed and a desire to fuel a lavish lifestyle.”
Kirsch, 23, had benefited from “the best that America can offer - good schools, an opportunity to grow up in a safe environment,” said U.S. District Judge Eduardo C. Robreno. And yet she “visited harm on at least 50 victims,” many of them friends and colleagues.
He ordered Kirsch to pay $100,000 in restitution and undergo mental-health treatment in prison. After her release, she is to be supervised by probation officials for five years.
Following more than two hours of debate between the attorneys about her mental state, Robreno decided to shave 10 months off the 70-to-81 months called for under sentencing guidelines. He had tried to balance all the issues in the case, he said, but still “was left to wonder - was the defendant mentally ill, or was she really self-indulgent? Was she a product of a profoundly dysfunctional family, or is she a hardened criminal?”
Kirsch, a former Drexel student who drew widespread media attention when glamorous photos of her, often in a bikini, were splashed over the Internet, looked more mousy than model-like as she stood meekly in court. She had no visible reaction to the sentence, and when led from the courtroom in handcuffs, she never once looked back toward her parents, who had sat somberly through the morning-long hearing.
Moments earlier, in a voice barely audible, she apologized for her actions. She and her then-boyfriend, Edward Anderton, had stolen identity information from friends, coworkers and neighbors and used it to get fake IDs, which they then used to get fraudulent credit cards. They stole more than $116,000 from their victims - and tried to steal about $122,000 more.
Kirsch also had expressed remorse in a letter to Robreno. She wrote that she and Anderton had convinced themselves that they were engaging in victimless crime.
“We assumed that personal credit would be restored quickly, that banks were insured and that no one would suffer,” she wrote to the judge.
Kirsch and Anderton pleaded guilty earlier this year to charges of conspiracy, fraud and aggravated identity theft. Anderton, who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in economics, is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 14.
Yesterday’s hearing focused largely on Kirsch’s mental condition, as defense attorney Ronald Greenblatt and Assistant U.S. Attorney Louis D. Lappen debated five psychological and psychiatric reports that offered vivid details about her past.
At the age of 18, Kirsch had gotten breast implants during cosmetic surgery performed by her father, a plastic surgeon, according to several of the psychological reports.
Arrested four times for shoplifting, Kirsch acknowledged to one psychologist that she had engaged in retail theft as many as 50 to 100 other times without getting caught.
Greenblatt also highlighted her tumultuous relationship with her only sibling, a brother who is one year older. The two haven’t spoken in years, he said.
“She has serious psychological problems,” he told the judge.
While acknowledging she has “psychological issues,” Lappen said such problems were not serious enough to result in a break in the length of her prison sentence.
“This was well thought out, premeditated and very serious criminal conduct,” he told Robreno.
Referring to letters sent by Kirsch’s mother, father and step-grandmother, Robreno said it was clear she had grown up in a family environment “full of stress and hostility” and that “neither her mother nor her father emerge as heroes in this case.”
In the end, the judge said, the sentence punishes Kirsch and “protects the public.”
Centipedes (from Latin prefix centi-, “hundred”, and Greek ποδός podos, “foot”) are arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda and the Subphylum Myriapoda. They are elongated metameric animals with one pair of legs per body segment. A key trait uniting this group is a pair of venom claws or forcipules formed from a modified first appendage. This also means that centipedes are an exclusively predatory taxon, which is uncommon.
Centipedes normally have a drab coloration combining shades of brown and red. Cavernicolous and subterranean species may lack pigmentation and many tropical Scolopendromorphs have bright aposematic colors. Size can range from a few millimeters in the smaller Lithobiomorphs and Geophilomorphs to about 30 cm. in the largest Scolopendromorphs. Centipedes can be found in a wide variety of environments.
Worldwide there are estimated to be 8,000 species.Currently there are about 3,000 described species. Geographically, centipedes have a wide range, which reaches beyond the Arctic Circle.Centipedes are found in an array of terrestrial habitats from tropical rainforests to deserts. Within these habitats centipedes require a moist micro-habitat due to their rapid rates of water loss. Accordingly, they are found in soil and leaf litter, under stones and deadwood, and inside logs. In addition, centipedes are among the largest terrestrial invertebrate predators and often they contribute a significant proportion to invertebrate predatory biomass in terrestrial ecosystems.
Hazards to humans
Some species of centipedes can be hazardous to humans because of their venomous bites. Although a bite to an adult human may only be painful, those with allergies that are similar to that of bee stings and small children are at greater risk. Smaller centipedes usually do not puncture human skin.
Evolution
Geophilomorpha
Internal phylogeny of the Chilopoda. The upper three groups form the paraphyletic Anamorpha.
Centipedes have a fossil record dating back 420 million years to the late Silurian.They belong to the subphylum Myriapoda which includes Diplopoda, Symphyla, and Pauropoda. The oldest known fossil land animal is a Myriapod.[clarify] Being one of the earliest terrestrial animals, centipedes were one of the first to fill a fundamental niche as ground level generalist predators in detrital food webs. Today centipedes are abundant and exist in many harsh habitats.
Within the myriapods, centipedes are believed to be the first of the extant classes to branch from a common ancestor. There are five orders of centipede: Craterostigmomorpha, Geophilomorpha, Lithobiomorpha, Scolopendromorpha, and Scutigeromorpha. These orders are united into the clade Chilopoda by the following synapomorphies.
1. first post-cephalic appendage modified to poison claws
2. embryonic cuticle on second maxilliped has egg tooth
3. the trochanter-prefemur joint is fixed
4. a spiral ridge on the nucleus of spermatazoan
Chilopoda is then split into two clades: the Notostigmomorpha including the Scutigeromorpha and the Pluerostigmomorpha including the other four orders. The main difference is that the Notostigmomorpha have their spiracles located mid-dorsally. It was previously believed that Chilopoda was split into Anamorpha including the Lithobiomorpha and the Scutigeromorpha, and Epimorpha including the Geophilomorpha and Scolopendromorpha based on developmental modes, with the relationship of Craterostigmomorpha being uncertain. Recent phylogenetic analyses using combined molecular and morphological characters supports the previous phylogeny.The Epimorpha group still exists as monophyletic within the Pleurostigmomorpha, but the Anamorpha group is paraphyletic.
Geophilomorph centipedes are used to argue for the developmental constraint of evolution,[clarify] because they have variable segment numbers within species, yet (as with all centipedes) they always have an odd number of pairs of legs.
Life history
Centipede mating does not involve copulation. Males deposit a spermatophore for the female to take up. In one clade, this spermatophore is deposited in a web, and the male undertakes a courtship dance to encourage the female to engulf his sperm. In other cases, the males just leave them for the females to find. In temperate areas egg laying occurs in spring and summer but in subtropical and tropical areas there appears to be little seasonality to centipede breeding. It is also notable that there are a few known species of parthenogenetic centipedes.
The Lithobiomorpha, and Scutigeromorpha lay their eggs singly in holes in the soil, the female fills the hole in on the egg and leaves it. Number of eggs laid ranges from about 10 to 50. Time of development of the embryo to hatching is highly variable and may take from one to a few months. Time of development to reproductive period is highly variable within and among species. For example, it can take 3 years for S. coleoptera to achieve adulthood, whereas under the right conditions Lithiobiomorph species may reach a reproductive period in 1 year. In addition, centipedes are relatively long-lived when compared to their insect cousins. For example: the European Lithobius forficatus can live for 5 or 6 years. The combination of a small number of eggs laid, long gestation period, and long time of development to reproduction has led authors to label Lithobiomorph centipedes as K-selected.
Females of Geophilomorpha and Scolopendromorpha show far more parental care, the eggs 15 to 60 in number are laid in a nest in the soil or in rotten wood, the female stays with the eggs, guarding and licking them to protect them from fungi. The female in some species stays with the young after they have hatched, guarding them until they are ready to leave. If disturbed the females tend to either abandon the eggs or young or to eat them; abandoned eggs tend to fall prey to fungi rapidly. Some species of Scolopendromorpha are matriphagic, meaning that the offspring eat their mother.
Little is known of the life history of Craterostigmomorpha.
Centipedes acquire their legs at different points in their development. In the primitive condition, exhibited by the Lithobiomorpha, Scutigeromorpha and Craterostigmomorpha, development is anamorphic. That is to say, more pairs of legs are grown between moults; for example, Scutigera coleoptera, the American house centipede, hatches with only 4 pairs of legs and in successive moults has 5, 7, 9, 11, 15, 15, 15 and 15 before becoming a sexually mature adult. Life stages with fewer than 15 pairs of legs are called larval stadia (~5 stages). After the full complement of legs is achieved, the now post-larval stadia (~5 stages) develop gonopods, sensory pores, more antennal segments, and more ocelli. All mature apomorphic centipedes have 15 leg-bearing segments.
The Craterostigmomorpha only have one phase of anamorphis, with embryos having 12 pairs, and moultees 15.
The clade Epimorpha, consisting of orders Geophilomorpha and Scolopendromorpha, derived epimorphy. Here, all pairs of legs are developed in the embryonic stages, offspring do not develop more legs between moults. Interestingly, it is this clade that contains the longest centipedes; the maximum number of thoracic segments may also vary intra-specifically, often on a geographical basis; in most cases, females bear more legs than males. The number of leg-bearing pairs varies widely, from 15 to 191, but the developmental mode of their creation means that they are always added in pairs-hence the total number present is always odd.
Ecology
Centipedes are an exclusively predatory taxon. They are known as generalist predators which means that they have adapted to eat a variety of different available prey items. Centipedes are also known to be nocturnal. Studies on centipede activity rhythms confirm this, although there are a few observations of centipedes active during the day and one species Strigamia chinophila that is diurnal. What centipedes actually eat is not well known because of their cryptic lifestyle and thorough mastication of food. Laboratory feeding trials support that they will feed as generalists, taking most anything that is soft-bodied and in a reasonable size range. It has been suggested that earthworms provide the bulk of diets for Geophilomorphs, since geophilomorphs burrow through the soil and earthworm bodies would be easily pierced by their poison claws. Observations suggest that Geophilomorphs cannot subdue earthworms larger than themselves, and so smaller earthworms may be a substantial proportion of their diet.Scolopendromorphs, given their size, are able to feed on vertebrates as well as invertebrates. They have been observed eating reptiles, amphibians, small mammals, bats and birds. Collembola may provide a large proportion of Lithiobiomorph diet. Little is known about Scutigeromorph or Craterostigmomorph diets. All centipedes are potential intraguild predators. Centipedes and spiders may frequently prey on one another.
Centipedes are eaten by a great many vertebrates and invertebrates, and form the staple diet of some. The African ant Amblyopone pluto feeds solely on Geophilomorphs[verification needed] and the South African Cape Black-headed snake Aparallactus capensis mainly feeds on centipedes.
Centipedes are found in moist microhabitats. Water relations are an important aspect of their ecology, since they lose water rapidly in dry conditions. Water loss is a result of centipedes lacking a waxy covering of their exoskeleton and excreting waste nitrogen as ammonia, which requires extra water. Centipedes deal with water loss through a variety of adaptations. Geophilomorphs lose water less rapidly than Lithobiomorps even though they have a greater surface area to volume ratio. This may be explained by the fact that Geophilomorphs have a more heavily sclerotized pleural membrane. Spiracle shape, size and ability to constrict also have an influence on rate of water loss. In addition, it has been suggested that number and size of coxal pores may be variables affecting centipede water balance.
Centipedes live in many different habitat types; forest, savannah, prairie, and desert to name a few. Some Geophilomorphs are adapted to littoral habitats, where they feed on barnacles.Species of all orders excluding Craterostigmomorpha have adapted to caves. Centipede densities have been recorded as high as 600/m2 and biomass as high as 500 mg/m2 wet weight. Small Geophilomorphs attain highest densities, followed by small Lithobiomorphs. Large Lithobiomorphs attain densities of 20/m2. One study of Scolopendromorphs records Scolopendra morsitans in a Nigerian savannah at a density of 0.16/m2 and a biomass of 140 mg/m2 wet weight.
Largest centipede
Scolopendra gigantea, also known as the Amazonian giant centipede, is the largest existing species of centipede in the world, reaching over 30 cm (12 in) in length. It is known to eat bats, catching them in midflight,as well as rodents and spiders. ‘The now extinct ‘Euphoberia was the largest centipede, growing up to one metre (39 inches) in length.
There are rumors that state that the Galápagos Islands giant centipede (Scolopendra galapagoensis) can reach sizes of up to 60 cm (25 in), although these rumours may result from the rarity of the particular centipede. Captive Galapagos centipedes don’t often exceed 20 cm (8 in) in body length.
The orders of centipedes are considered below, from primitive to derived.
Scutigeromorpha
The Scutigeromorpha are anamorphic, reaching 15 leg-bearing segments in length. They are very fast creatures, and able to withstand falling at great speed: they reach up to 15 body-lengths per second when dropped, surviving the fall.
They are the only centipede group to retain their original compound eyes, with which a crystalline layer analogous to that seen in chelicerates and insects can be observed. They also bear long and multisegmented antennae. Adaptions to a burrowing lifestyle has led to the degeneration of compound eyes in other orders. This feature is of great use in phylogenetic analysis.
The group is the sole extant representative of the Notostigmomorpha, defined by having single spiracle openings on the back of their ventral plates. The more derived groups bear a plurality of spiracular openings on their sides, and are termed the Pleurostigmomorpha. Some even have 7 unpaired spiracles that can be found along the middorsal line and closer to their posterior section of tergites.
The lithobiomorpha represent the other main group of anamorphic centipedes; they also reach a mature length of 15 thoracic segments. This group has lost the compound eyes, and sometimes has no eyes altogether. Instead, it eyes have facets or groups of facets. It’s spiracles are paired and can be found laterally. Every leg-bearing segment of this organism has a separate tergite. It also has relatively short antennae and legs.
The craterostigmomorpha are the least diverse centipede clade, comprising only two species.Their geographic range is restricted to Tasmania and New Zealand. They have a distinct body plan; their anamorphosis comprises a single stage; they grow from 12 to 15 segments in their first moult. Their low diversity and intermediate position between the primitive Anamorphic centipedes and the derived Epimorpha has led to them being described as the “platypus of the centipede world”.They represent a “highly pruned” version of a once diverse clade.
Maternal brooding unites Craterostigomomorpha with the Epimorphs into the clade Phylactometria. This trait is thought to be closely linked with the presence of sternal pores, which secrete sticky or noxious secretions, which mainly serve to repel predators and parasites. The presence of these pores on the Devonian Devonobius permits its inclusion in this clade, allowing its divergence to be dated to 375 (or more) million years ago.
*
o Cryptopidae
o Scolopendridae
o Scolopocryptopidae
The more primitive of the Epimorpha, the Scolopendromorpha comprise 21 or more segments with the same number of paired legs. Their antennae have 17 or more segments. Their eyes will have at least 4 facets on each side.
Joceyln S. Kirsch (b. 1985) and Edward Kyle Anderton(b. 1982) are a former Philadelphia-area couple who in November 2007 were arrested on charges alleging that they perpetrated a complex identity theft scheme.Police alleged that between November 2006 and November 2007, the couple obtained nearly $120,000 in cash and merchandise using credit cards, bank account information, and personal documents stolen in burglaries from friends, neighbors, and others.In May 2008, Kirsch signed an agreement to plead guilty to “two counts of aggravated identity theft, money laundering, bank fraud and other charges”. On Oct. 17, 2008 she was sentenced to five years in prison and a five year probation. She also was sentenced to make restitution in the amount of just over $100,000.Anderton accepted a similar plea bargain and is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 14, 2008.
Centipedes (from Latin prefix centi-, “hundred”, and Greek ποδός podos, “foot”) are arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda and the Subphylum Myriapoda. They are elongated metameric animals with one pair of legs per body segment. A key trait uniting this group is a pair of venom claws or forcipules formed from a modified first appendage. This also means that centipedes are an exclusively predatory taxon, which is uncommon.