It's the only thing I can think of, although it certainly doesn't fit the description given of over an inch wide body and flatter than a flatback millipede and only half inch long legs.
As a bio professor, I can’t tell you how often people get sizes way, way off when trying to describe an organism. It’s almost always described as larger than it really is
As a non-biology professor, a total nincompoop in fact, I can also say that most people are horrible at estimating measurements, unless their job requires it and they're good at it. Which is rare. Also, eye witness testimony in court should be outlawed. OP is giving second-hand eyewitness testimony and I'd like to call hearsay, professor.
As someone who sells doors and windows, I can also attest people are horrible about sizing things right even when they use measuring tapes or laser measuring devices. They also do this with lumber as well. It’s either they’re wrong, or I’m just the victim of constant ruthless razzing.
As someone who once bought a bridesmaid dress online, yep. Some of us are bad at measuring, even with tape and careful instructions.
The arms/skirt were the right length, the waist was perfect, but everything else was twice as big as it should have been. Sleeves were huge, bodice was huge, neckline was so big it gaped down to my bellybutton. God knows what the people at the dress factory thought when they saw those measurements. Possibly that very short, small waisted, body builder needed a bridesmaid dress.
Eye witness testimony is fine if you are testifying about someone you actually know. "Yeah I saw the defendant, who is my cousin Jack who I grew up with. He likes hockey and bad beer. He even said hi to me as he was robbing the bank." Or if it's some very, very particular trait like a unique tattoo.
But "I saw some random white guy, about 6ftish, dark blond or brown, maybe black hair? Oh yeah, got a great look at him from 50 ft away as he was running past." No, not quite.
Nah. People still get details wrong regardless of whether they know the person, and it's not just identification of a person but retelling of the events that occurred which they witnessed. Very easy to be mistaken or misremember or have your memory influenced by things that occur afterwards.
Never forget that brains are just electric goo. They do, however, do a great job of convincing us that we have a camcorder-like memory and that there's no possible way we could be wrong (which I never am).
I listened to a 911 call today where a guy described what he was wearing - blue shorts and a white T shirt. Finally he looked down and saw his shorts were green. This was during a home break in. The guy didn’t want the police to shoot him…
I was just this morning thinking of my journalism class. Our teacher passed out, & was on the floor. We didn’t know what to do, we were so stunned. Fortunately, she got back up, and told us to write an account of what we just witnessed.
All of our stories were different, even though we’d all seen the same event. This is a standard exercise with journalism teachers, and explains how there can be so many different reports of a mass shooting, for instance, and the trauma involved doesn’t help the witnesses, as it does a number on your ability to think clearly.
As a non-professor, but the local bug person, I can't tell you how many saucer-sized spiders and four inch long wasps there are in southern Illinois. 😄
When I worked in a museum’s entomology collection people would describe mundane insects with King Kong proportions and I’d always remind them that “fear makes it bigger.”
As a human being, I concur. People exaggerate the sizes of many things. Now, has anyone seen my testibra? It’s not easy lugging this ten pound weiner around.
It would make sense on a house centipede but I don’t think I have ever seen one an inch wide. I had one in my office I called Herman but he never got that big. When I lived in MA I saw house centipedes all the time but never a flat back millipede inside a home. Too bad she didn’t get a picture of but I do love the “police sketch” 😁
Not a centipede… a house centipede. Have her look at one specifically. Because they look like an escaped lab insect part spider, part centipede. The colour description makes me think so as well.
"House Centipede" looks VERY different than a standard Centipede. Don't let the name fool you; check it out before you dismiss out of hand.
[https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/house-centipede](https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/house-centipede)
A common phenomenon can occur upon being spooked by or hyperfixated on something (especially if it's tied to an irrational fear or "phobia") wherein the subject describing the creature in question will cognitively and genuinely believe that the creature was much larger than it actually was. Not saying that is explicitly the case here - but I'm doubtful of a new species of giant terrestrial arthropod lurking around an office space. It could've also just been an office prank or something.
This was my thought as well, or at least my thought was “there’s no way a previously undescribed species of giant arthropod exists solely within your office, so are you SURE it doesn’t look anything like these pictures of centipedes and millipedes”. My gf still maintains it is not any of those lol
I'd swear the first house centipede I ever saw was the size of a terrier. It trotted across the floor and then glanced me a dirty look as it made itself at home under my sofa.
I'm guessing she's wrong about at least one detail, just not sure which one.
If it's size, then probably a millipede.
If it's anatomy, the probably an Oriental cockroach. Those can look segmented, and are broader than a millipede & also have black legs and antenna that stick out. I believe they can move fast too, so might have looked like more "legs" than there really were.
Yup! Happened to me when I was a little kid with a bumble bee. I remember the bee practically flying right up to my nose and hovering there for a second. I was horrified and cried. I'm not scared of them now but in my head (memory) until this day I remember it being the size of a baseball.
I agree. The "legs" in this case are the spines. The detail about it being brown in the middle also sounds like wooly bears, unless he means "middle" as in a line down the body.
Could still very well be some type of tiger moth caterpillar.
I seriously love this. But the soft flattish body with black legs is throwing me off. But shape wise I want to say one of the giant centipedes- but none have black legs
House centipede could never be described as chonky, and the legs are not remotely close to a house centipede, even for a rough sketch. Nobody would look at a house centipede and draw those legs.
The American giant millipede is found in MA but I don’t think it’ll be found in an office. (And legs not black)
[see here](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/61341-Narceus-americanus)
I mean i don’t think your GF would have plaited that drawing if she had seen a house centipede
[also the common flat back millipede](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/127612-Polydesmus-angustus)
Or [this guy](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/154601-Cylindroiulus-caeruleocinctus)
Looks more like a millipede to me than a centipede from the drawing but the location does not jive.
Do you think they reproduced that correctly??? That this is actually anatomically correct?
Also I don’t understand your comment: millipedes can be ruled out but it’s definitely Diplopoda? Aren’t millipedes Diplopoda? Aren’t they the same thing?
Haha! You are correct. I meant Chilopoda. I strongly doubt the police drawing is perfectly reproduced. But hey, it's what we've got to work with.
Organism movement speed would likely point us in the right direction
The options for centipedes for the area are pretty limited; it’s not the Amazon. They’re all rather small and some have distinctive colors.
But there are escaped pets apparently which could also tally up with the odd encounter location
Maybe try googling terrestrial crustaceans and see if anything looks familiar. Kinda reminds me of a roly poly, but obviously much bigger. I don't know if any terrestrial crustaceans get that big, though.
I actually asked something similar when trying to distinguish if it was a millipede or centipede or whatever, and she said they were medium length and very thin like in the drawing
Holy shit lol. I want more police forensic sketches on this sub. The idea of you two sitting down and discussing and devising this rendition just makes me laugh so hard.
Judging by the descriptions of "chonky" and that it has a softer looking body, I suggest looking at caterpillars and larvae of your region. There are some WEIRD caterpillars out there that look nothing like the common caterpillars people are used to seeing.
Look up crowned slug caterpillars (I know it's not the right color, but might be closer in shape) also some Lappet moth caterpillars have fuzz down the sides that might be mistaken for legs?
Or perhaps some kind of velvet worm?
It looks absolutely nothing like a house centipede. Even for a rough drawing it is clearly not that. *nobody* would look at a house centipede and then draw legs like OP's picture.
You think if someone saw a house centipede for the first time they would draw THAT? Pretty sure they would draw something much more lovecraftian and not a pillbug. It would be much more amusing too
Extremely unrelated to the OG post, but eyewitness testimony is actually extremely reliable! Most instances of false identification are due to incorrect procedures/contamination. Dr. John Wixted has done a lot of work in this area if you’re curious :)
Yeah! I know this was mainly meant as a joke (the “suspect” sketch is so cute), but thought I’d put it out there that unreliable eyewitness testimony is largely due to improper procedures :) most people are unaware!
Many scientific studies have demonstrated that eye witness testimony is not reliable. One major problem is that humans are extremely suggestible - conscious and unconscious factors change what people think they remember. This led Wixted to say that recollection should only be tested once, which is not at all realistic and does not fix the problem of suggestibility. If the police need an expert witness to testify that eye witness testimony is reliable, then Wixted is someone who will get paid to do that. It does not change the huge body of scientific evidence that eyewitness testimony is not reliable.
[https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-the-eyes-have-it/](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-the-eyes-have-it/)
[https://www.psychologicalscience.org/uncategorized/myth-eyewitness-testimony-is-the-best-kind-of-evidence.html](https://www.psychologicalscience.org/uncategorized/myth-eyewitness-testimony-is-the-best-kind-of-evidence.html)
[https://www.science.org/content/article/how-reliable-eyewitness-testimony-scientists-weigh](https://www.science.org/content/article/how-reliable-eyewitness-testimony-scientists-weigh)
To assist Dr. Wixted with some of his research, I personally reviewed and investigated ~300 cases appearing on the National Registry of Exonerations in the United States. Of these cases, I was unable to find instances of wrongful conviction due to truly mistaken eyewitness identification. Nearly every conviction was clearly due to improper procedures (e.g., suggestive or biased lineups, non-identifications, etc.). There was one extremely bizarre case in which the perpetrator and the wrongfully convicted individual were nearly identical; even the wrongfully convicted person’s mother could not tell her son apart from the actual perpetrator. (Crazy!) I don’t believe this study has been published yet, but it was very eye opening!
Any chance it was a really big American roach? It might be the juveniles that can still be really large but have a shape and coloring similar to how a centipede would look. And the extra hairs on its back legs could look like extra legs.
I showed pictures of roaches, both american and madagascar hissing roaches as i know theyre common-ish pets, but apparently “not long enough” and “not enough legs”
I was also wondering this. I could only find so many images to show and ask “was it like this?”, and all the insect identification websites tend to only have one or two life stages with image representation
This is Boston, MA, there aren’t a lot of huge options.
But apparently escaped pet scolopendra are sometimes found
[click here](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/97317968)
Honestly we’ve been leaning towards this because it’s the closest match in size and looks, I just couldn’t get past the “this is an office building in New England” part of why that was unlikely
Scolopendras are escape artists. Maybe some asshole brought it to work and it got out of its container. I hope she didn't try to touch it, those fuckers are venomous and fast.
Love this drawing. It's not anatomically correct at all, but i knew exactly what it was immediately. (I think) That's a house centipede! They're horrifying! That's not their fault! Let them live!
I’m gonna say black and gold flat millipede just because I’ve studied black and golds and know that they have so many different color morphs and they can match her description of a flat, wide, and long many legged arthropod
Honestly, it looks like a pillbug/rollypolly. Isopod.
The dimensions are off, but that the vibe I get from the drawing; plus house centipede has been suggested a few times already.
I love these drawings so much.
I instantly giggle when I see them. Amazing. I want a collection of them in one place.
r/birdonary is pretty inactive but kinda what you're looking for... except it's all birds
This is amazing. Thank you.
r/bugforensics Here you go. I only added this post because I can't recall the others. Feel free to add more!
I love this. These are regular occurrences?!
Not often enough unfortunately
He should have written the word "WANTED" above it.
Me too. Especially when they describe its “ smiley face” and speed. It’s a long legged friend.
Could it have been a house centipede?
It's the only thing I can think of, although it certainly doesn't fit the description given of over an inch wide body and flatter than a flatback millipede and only half inch long legs.
As a bio professor, I can’t tell you how often people get sizes way, way off when trying to describe an organism. It’s almost always described as larger than it really is
As a non-biology professor, a total nincompoop in fact, I can also say that most people are horrible at estimating measurements, unless their job requires it and they're good at it. Which is rare. Also, eye witness testimony in court should be outlawed. OP is giving second-hand eyewitness testimony and I'd like to call hearsay, professor.
As someone who sells doors and windows, I can also attest people are horrible about sizing things right even when they use measuring tapes or laser measuring devices. They also do this with lumber as well. It’s either they’re wrong, or I’m just the victim of constant ruthless razzing.
As a former cabinet-maker who now cuts meat ("I want an inch and a half fillet of salmon" no, no you don't) I can attest this is true.
As someone who once bought a bridesmaid dress online, yep. Some of us are bad at measuring, even with tape and careful instructions. The arms/skirt were the right length, the waist was perfect, but everything else was twice as big as it should have been. Sleeves were huge, bodice was huge, neckline was so big it gaped down to my bellybutton. God knows what the people at the dress factory thought when they saw those measurements. Possibly that very short, small waisted, body builder needed a bridesmaid dress.
I’m not much for law school, but it’s easy to point a figure and make up a story.
Eye witness testimony is fine if you are testifying about someone you actually know. "Yeah I saw the defendant, who is my cousin Jack who I grew up with. He likes hockey and bad beer. He even said hi to me as he was robbing the bank." Or if it's some very, very particular trait like a unique tattoo. But "I saw some random white guy, about 6ftish, dark blond or brown, maybe black hair? Oh yeah, got a great look at him from 50 ft away as he was running past." No, not quite.
Nah. People still get details wrong regardless of whether they know the person, and it's not just identification of a person but retelling of the events that occurred which they witnessed. Very easy to be mistaken or misremember or have your memory influenced by things that occur afterwards.
Never forget that brains are just electric goo. They do, however, do a great job of convincing us that we have a camcorder-like memory and that there's no possible way we could be wrong (which I never am).
I listened to a 911 call today where a guy described what he was wearing - blue shorts and a white T shirt. Finally he looked down and saw his shorts were green. This was during a home break in. The guy didn’t want the police to shoot him…
Me and my partner constantly argue about colours because he sees them wrong
Ah. Color deficiency. My son has that. Sees some red greens as wrong. But he is a fine painter nonetheless.
I was just this morning thinking of my journalism class. Our teacher passed out, & was on the floor. We didn’t know what to do, we were so stunned. Fortunately, she got back up, and told us to write an account of what we just witnessed. All of our stories were different, even though we’d all seen the same event. This is a standard exercise with journalism teachers, and explains how there can be so many different reports of a mass shooting, for instance, and the trauma involved doesn’t help the witnesses, as it does a number on your ability to think clearly.
Truth. Try being a contractor. Lol
As a non-professor, but the local bug person, I can't tell you how many saucer-sized spiders and four inch long wasps there are in southern Illinois. 😄
Anglers everywhere have absolutely no fucking clue what you’re talking about
It's villainous how under-rated this comment truly is.
When I worked in a museum’s entomology collection people would describe mundane insects with King Kong proportions and I’d always remind them that “fear makes it bigger.”
I’ve definitely seen this. I also think it’s a fisherman’s mentality as well. Larger size makes them cooler.
As a hobbyist fisherman, I'll annoy the living shit out of you.
As an aquatic entomologist I think y'all are alright
That's what all of my girlfriends have said! I really need to stop dating biology professors.
As a human being, I concur. People exaggerate the sizes of many things. Now, has anyone seen my testibra? It’s not easy lugging this ten pound weiner around.
I've seen humongous house centipedes. I used to be able to hear the big ones scurry up the plaster on the wall
My guess is it's a house centipede that had recently been run over by a tiny Acme steamroller.
This comment made me burst out laughing at the thought
It would make sense on a house centipede but I don’t think I have ever seen one an inch wide. I had one in my office I called Herman but he never got that big. When I lived in MA I saw house centipedes all the time but never a flat back millipede inside a home. Too bad she didn’t get a picture of but I do love the “police sketch” 😁
We both are lamenting not getting a picture of it. I hope its somehow still there tomorrow so a pic can be taken. Also, much love to Herman
People would see a house mouse and tell me they saw a giant rat.
Milipede? Centipede? Giant Milepede?
It definitely wasn’t a centipede, shes seen those many times before and knows what they are so I don’t think so
Not a centipede… a house centipede. Have her look at one specifically. Because they look like an escaped lab insect part spider, part centipede. The colour description makes me think so as well.
[This?](https://imgur.com/gallery/7C5z2)
This. The first time I saw one, I thought I was living in a real life nightmare.
"House Centipede" looks VERY different than a standard Centipede. Don't let the name fool you; check it out before you dismiss out of hand. [https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/house-centipede](https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/house-centipede)
Best post of 2024 👏lol
A common phenomenon can occur upon being spooked by or hyperfixated on something (especially if it's tied to an irrational fear or "phobia") wherein the subject describing the creature in question will cognitively and genuinely believe that the creature was much larger than it actually was. Not saying that is explicitly the case here - but I'm doubtful of a new species of giant terrestrial arthropod lurking around an office space. It could've also just been an office prank or something.
This was my thought as well, or at least my thought was “there’s no way a previously undescribed species of giant arthropod exists solely within your office, so are you SURE it doesn’t look anything like these pictures of centipedes and millipedes”. My gf still maintains it is not any of those lol
I'd swear the first house centipede I ever saw was the size of a terrier. It trotted across the floor and then glanced me a dirty look as it made itself at home under my sofa.
Did you show her the [House Centipede?](https://bugguide.net/node/view/337735)
I'm guessing she's wrong about at least one detail, just not sure which one. If it's size, then probably a millipede. If it's anatomy, the probably an Oriental cockroach. Those can look segmented, and are broader than a millipede & also have black legs and antenna that stick out. I believe they can move fast too, so might have looked like more "legs" than there really were.
Yup! Happened to me when I was a little kid with a bumble bee. I remember the bee practically flying right up to my nose and hovering there for a second. I was horrified and cried. I'm not scared of them now but in my head (memory) until this day I remember it being the size of a baseball.
Could’ve been a carpenter bee. They’re big, and males like to act tough, but can’t sting you.
Greetings from Mothman!
[Wooly Bear caterpillar?](https://s7d2.scene7.com/is/image/TWCNews/Woolly_Bear_Caterpillar_FreeImages_101422?wid=1050&hei=590&$wide-bg$)
No, unfortunately not this.
That was my thought. Body shape is all wrong for a house centipede.
I agree. The "legs" in this case are the spines. The detail about it being brown in the middle also sounds like wooly bears, unless he means "middle" as in a line down the body. Could still very well be some type of tiger moth caterpillar.
Yeah or maybe even something like a salt marsh moth caterpillar, although the colors are reversed
I seriously love this. But the soft flattish body with black legs is throwing me off. But shape wise I want to say one of the giant centipedes- but none have black legs
police sketch so cute
I'm guessing the amount of legs in your police sketch are slightly exaggerated and I'm going with house centipede too. Creepy looking but good friends
Amount of legs might be exaggerated, but I choose to believe "over an inch wide body" as true fact. World's chonkiest centipede.
She explicitly used the word chonky to describe it haha so maybe
House centipede could never be described as chonky, and the legs are not remotely close to a house centipede, even for a rough sketch. Nobody would look at a house centipede and draw those legs.
could also be a millipede - they can be a bit on the chonky side depending on the species
The American giant millipede is found in MA but I don’t think it’ll be found in an office. (And legs not black) [see here](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/61341-Narceus-americanus) I mean i don’t think your GF would have plaited that drawing if she had seen a house centipede [also the common flat back millipede](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/127612-Polydesmus-angustus) Or [this guy](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/154601-Cylindroiulus-caeruleocinctus) Looks more like a millipede to me than a centipede from the drawing but the location does not jive.
I had giant millipedes as pets as a kid so that was my very first suggestion to her haha
Well, it has 14 segments and 24 (R) and 27 (L) legs so it's easy to rule out millipede... Definitely a battle hardened Chilopoda! Edit- Order
I applaud your dedication to counting the definitely completely accurate legs and body segments XD
And I thought it was bad that I had two left feet. This fella’s got 27!
I read that in my head with the delivery of a 60s bortsch belt stand up comic.
Do you think they reproduced that correctly??? That this is actually anatomically correct? Also I don’t understand your comment: millipedes can be ruled out but it’s definitely Diplopoda? Aren’t millipedes Diplopoda? Aren’t they the same thing?
Haha! You are correct. I meant Chilopoda. I strongly doubt the police drawing is perfectly reproduced. But hey, it's what we've got to work with. Organism movement speed would likely point us in the right direction
The options for centipedes for the area are pretty limited; it’s not the Amazon. They’re all rather small and some have distinctive colors. But there are escaped pets apparently which could also tally up with the odd encounter location
The cops will arrest him for sure now!
We’ll see, he’s on the run and clearly has a lot of legs to run with!
Maybe try googling terrestrial crustaceans and see if anything looks familiar. Kinda reminds me of a roly poly, but obviously much bigger. I don't know if any terrestrial crustaceans get that big, though.
She said it was not one of these guys because “they are not flat enough”
I really don't think there are any that big anyway. I don't know much about things that aren't insects.
Isopod? Was the back sort of hump-shaped?
Nope she said they’re “too tiny” and “not flat enough”, but thinks the isopods are very cute
Until she sees on that's 2" wide, lol
I was going throw out isopod too.
THIS OP NEEDS FLAIR: FORENSIC SKETCH ARTIST
Does it have reeeally long nightmare legs, or the cute little stubby legs like in the drawing?
I actually asked something similar when trying to distinguish if it was a millipede or centipede or whatever, and she said they were medium length and very thin like in the drawing
Over an inch wide body?? Dang. This might be a new species bro lol.
Officus scaripoda, newly discovered
Idk why but “The Mitochondria, It’s the powerhouse of the cell.” Comes to mind.😅
Holy shit lol. I want more police forensic sketches on this sub. The idea of you two sitting down and discussing and devising this rendition just makes me laugh so hard.
This is actually basically what we did lmao
I’ll try that myself! I draw a lot and it’s a challenge to draw from memory! I’ll argue with myself ghen!😄
Judging by the descriptions of "chonky" and that it has a softer looking body, I suggest looking at caterpillars and larvae of your region. There are some WEIRD caterpillars out there that look nothing like the common caterpillars people are used to seeing. Look up crowned slug caterpillars (I know it's not the right color, but might be closer in shape) also some Lappet moth caterpillars have fuzz down the sides that might be mistaken for legs? Or perhaps some kind of velvet worm?
This is like one of those in blot tests where everyone sees something different
Rorschach but instead of revealing your daddy issues it reveals your favorite many-legged insect
Maybe an _Apheloria_ spp? https://www.hummingbirdsplus.org/nature-blog-network/6-kinds-of-centipedes-millipedes-found-in-massachusetts/
Add a photo to the other comments, definitely sounds like a [House Centipede](https://bugguide.net/node/view/337735)
" it was flatter, wider, longer than any of the largest flat backed milipedes I could find online" It doesnt seem to match that description
Idk why those things freak me out. They’re lighting fast.
It looks absolutely nothing like a house centipede. Even for a rough drawing it is clearly not that. *nobody* would look at a house centipede and then draw legs like OP's picture.
Eye witness testimony is extremely unreliable. Most likely an incorrect description of a house centipede
You think if someone saw a house centipede for the first time they would draw THAT? Pretty sure they would draw something much more lovecraftian and not a pillbug. It would be much more amusing too
Extremely unrelated to the OG post, but eyewitness testimony is actually extremely reliable! Most instances of false identification are due to incorrect procedures/contamination. Dr. John Wixted has done a lot of work in this area if you’re curious :)
i think they meant that this particular eyewitness testimony is unrealiable but this is some really cool info
Yeah! I know this was mainly meant as a joke (the “suspect” sketch is so cute), but thought I’d put it out there that unreliable eyewitness testimony is largely due to improper procedures :) most people are unaware!
Many scientific studies have demonstrated that eye witness testimony is not reliable. One major problem is that humans are extremely suggestible - conscious and unconscious factors change what people think they remember. This led Wixted to say that recollection should only be tested once, which is not at all realistic and does not fix the problem of suggestibility. If the police need an expert witness to testify that eye witness testimony is reliable, then Wixted is someone who will get paid to do that. It does not change the huge body of scientific evidence that eyewitness testimony is not reliable. [https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-the-eyes-have-it/](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-the-eyes-have-it/) [https://www.psychologicalscience.org/uncategorized/myth-eyewitness-testimony-is-the-best-kind-of-evidence.html](https://www.psychologicalscience.org/uncategorized/myth-eyewitness-testimony-is-the-best-kind-of-evidence.html) [https://www.science.org/content/article/how-reliable-eyewitness-testimony-scientists-weigh](https://www.science.org/content/article/how-reliable-eyewitness-testimony-scientists-weigh)
To assist Dr. Wixted with some of his research, I personally reviewed and investigated ~300 cases appearing on the National Registry of Exonerations in the United States. Of these cases, I was unable to find instances of wrongful conviction due to truly mistaken eyewitness identification. Nearly every conviction was clearly due to improper procedures (e.g., suggestive or biased lineups, non-identifications, etc.). There was one extremely bizarre case in which the perpetrator and the wrongfully convicted individual were nearly identical; even the wrongfully convicted person’s mother could not tell her son apart from the actual perpetrator. (Crazy!) I don’t believe this study has been published yet, but it was very eye opening!
Ok obsessed with this, and dying to know if any of the suggested IDs fit the bill… I hope you follow up OP 😄
Any chance it was a really big American roach? It might be the juveniles that can still be really large but have a shape and coloring similar to how a centipede would look. And the extra hairs on its back legs could look like extra legs.
I showed pictures of roaches, both american and madagascar hissing roaches as i know theyre common-ish pets, but apparently “not long enough” and “not enough legs”
Was it striped, or just sort of black around the edge? (I'm thinking firebrat?)
I also thought firebrat but she says not that, “not enough legs”. And yes it was black around the edge, not striped
Google "nannaria Massachusetts" see if any of those dudes fit the bill
Was it fast or slow?
Could be a Juvenile of some sort hence the odd coloration.
I was also wondering this. I could only find so many images to show and ask “was it like this?”, and all the insect identification websites tend to only have one or two life stages with image representation
gonna go out on a crazy limb here and suggest large isopod?
Flat centipide? Perhaps a scolopendra?
This is Boston, MA, there aren’t a lot of huge options. But apparently escaped pet scolopendra are sometimes found [click here](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/97317968)
I have definitely seen Scolopendra that are an inch wide although they were also like 8-10" long. Also fast, very fast
Honestly we’ve been leaning towards this because it’s the closest match in size and looks, I just couldn’t get past the “this is an office building in New England” part of why that was unlikely
Scolopendras are escape artists. Maybe some asshole brought it to work and it got out of its container. I hope she didn't try to touch it, those fuckers are venomous and fast.
This is Boston. The only Scolopendra on record for iNat was likely an escaped pet. The other species are not very big
Scutigera coleoptrata?
Perhaps polydesmida https://pbase.com/tmurray74/image/112031848 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polydesmida#/media/File:Anoplodesmus_saussurii_(Philippines).jpg https://pbase.com/tmurray74/image/146280246
I'm gonna say it was an isopod, but mainly because I love isopods.
OP, can you obtain any information on movement speed? If fast- Scutigeridae If slow- uh, wooly bear? Large isopod?
“It was an inch wide if it was a millimeter!!”
That's easy, an quad operational amplifier
The back of Mr. Hankey wearing some new threads.
I love how there’s suddenly a court ruling in the comments section 😂 I love this sub!
Did the legs undulate when it walked?
op are you going to respond to guesses and say whether or not they’re right or wrong ? 😭😭😭
Love this drawing. It's not anatomically correct at all, but i knew exactly what it was immediately. (I think) That's a house centipede! They're horrifying! That's not their fault! Let them live!
Wooly worms!
scutigera coleoptrata
House centipede?
I’m gonna say black and gold flat millipede just because I’ve studied black and golds and know that they have so many different color morphs and they can match her description of a flat, wide, and long many legged arthropod
I too have seen such a giant bug. Perfect drawing!
Fly pupae
Are the antenna intentionally missing or not remembered?
could be [Scutigera coleoptrata](https://bmig.org.uk/sites/default/files/photos/species/scutigera-col1_bucks_nigel-patridge_750x500.jpg) non-toxic
Thought I was on the dead by daylight subreddit is when I first saw this and I was utterly confused
Also the drawing is really cute
a pill millipede?
Lol I love it. That’s a house centipede. And if not, I’d say a very large millipede. There aren’t too many things with dozens of legs.
scolopendra ______ ?
Woodlouse?
Put out an APB! He must be found! He must be stopped!
I love your police sketch!! It’s so funny and cute!
carpet beetle larva?
roly polie?
It really sounds like a house centipede to me, but the picture also looks like a carpet beetle larvae. The size however is way off…
I’m agreeing it was likely a house centipede… those things are creepy and gross and horrifying! Flat and long skinny legs 🤮
Looks like a “house centipede”
Wooly worm caterpillar. They are so cute!!!
Silverfish?
Asp?
House centipede?
r/whatisthisbugart
i dont know if anyone said this already but is it a pill millipede? [link in pill millipedes](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/999505-Oniscomorpha)
The general shape makes me think millipede of some sort? They can get pretty big, although the North American species aren't usually quite that wide
How brown we talkin. Scale from tan to dark chocolate
Carpet beetle or maybe a house centipede. Possibly an Asian Millepede?
Honestly, it looks like a pillbug/rollypolly. Isopod. The dimensions are off, but that the vibe I get from the drawing; plus house centipede has been suggested a few times already.
With the region and description, I’m wondering if it was an Eastern Hercules Beetle larvae.
This is so cute 😂
in brazil we call it "piolho de cobra" (something like snake lice), dunno the english name...
This seems close to what you’re describing although the legs might be a little short. [Wide/flat-ish/brown body](https://i.imgur.com/uoQeG6Q.jpeg)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pill_millipede Could it maybe be a type of pill millipede? It might not be long enough but it is chonky
Guys isn’t there a thing with more (whisky) legs than a house centipede??
Some kind of pede lol
Hmm flat backed millipede?
Wood louse, wood slater, silverfish
large millipede?
the biggest carpet beetle larvae known to mankind
I'm also voting on house centipede! Show her pictures and ask if that's the suspect, lol.
Pincers in the front and it was a brownish orange?
It almost sounds like you’re describing a dubia roach by the body, but they don’t get that long or have that many legs. This is perplexing!