Creature with spindly long legs meets tragic end in Bukit Batok
Stomper Tay spotted a bizarre-looking creature running across a linkway at Block 236, Bukit Batok East Avenue 5 on Friday morning (June 8).
Tay, who saw the critter at the void deck at around 8am, said it resembled a cockroach.
He said: "It was about the size of a cockroach and had many long legs.
"It ran very fast like a cockroach too."
Unfortunately, the odd creature met its untimely end when someone stepped on it.
"A passer-by saw the insect and stepped on it intentionally, so it died."
The animal is likely to be a house centipede ('Scutigera coleoptrata'), which is sometimes referred to as being "hundred-legged".
(Photo: Bruce Marlin/Wikimedia Commons)
Here are some facts about the house centipede:
- Typically yellowish-grey with stripes on body and legs
- Has up to 15 pairs of legs that give it fast speed
- Has two long antenna on its head and two long appendages on its rear
- Feeds on insects
- Lifespan of three to seven years
- Preference for warm, tropical and humid climates
Typically yellowish-grey with stripes on body and legs
Has up to 15 pairs of legs that give it fast speed
Has two long antenna on its head and two long appendages on its rear
Feeds on insects
Lifespan of three to seven years
Preference for warm, tropical and humid climates
Update:
As a user has pointed out in the comments below, the critter could also be a forest-dwelling centipede ('Thereuopoda longicornis').
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