Ok now I'm curious about what the fuck the two centipedes I found in my basement that I thought were fucking were actually doing. They sure looked like they were fucking.
A disappointingly large proportion of the general population appears to be unable to tell the difference between centipedes and millipedes. Is it possible that the "centipedes" you saw were actually millipedes? If so, they may have been "fucking", or at least the millipede equivalent of it.
Additionally, it appears that this "fact" is actually wrong (big surprise, huh?). Many species of centipede do have courtship strategies that involve males and females meeting up. The sexes may even employ various forms of physical touch as part of the process. So, it's certainly possible that the critters you saw where centipedes courting each other.
Assuming this is actually representative of the difference, it was definitely a pair of centipedes.
I'm not surprised in the least that at a minimum it's more complicated than the meme suggests, and now I've learned far more about centipedes than I ever wanted to. Thanks!
The last time I left sperm packets on the ground I was branded a "pervert" and a "freak" and told to leave the restaurant immediately before they called the police.
Sooo are centipedes like fruit flies and not engage in any real form of sexual selection, or is the female going around judging the fuck out of every jizz pile she encounters?
"Mmm-mm, look at that poor viscosity, obviously from a low-quality male. This one on the other hand: deep color, firm texture, nice and sticky... clearly produced by a male with the superior genes I want to pass along to my offspring."
Most cephalopods die after mating. Their sex hormones make them go crazy and they stop looking for food except to eat themselves occasionally. Once the sex hormone glad starts pumping them out, it doesn't stop until they die a horrible death. Live fast and die young.
I was very excited about humanity killing itself off and letting the superior line of sapience take over until I learned this fact. It's going to be a bit before the octopi are ready to create a civilization.