Centipedes have 100 legs. This is not true. This is a fallacy.

Centipedes can have 29 or more pairs of legs (58 or more legs), but most have 15 or 17 pairs of legs (30 or 34 legs).

The number of legs depends upon the number of body segments.

Centipede

Most centipedes have 15 segments so they have 15 pairs of legs. A few centipedes have up to 177 segments so they have 177 pairs of legs (354 legs).

Most centipedes re-grow their legs if the legs are damaged or drop off.

Photographer: Martina Nicolls

Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM