Centipeetle Mother

* Debut
 **Voice Actor** | **Dee Bradley Baker**

## Appearance

The Centipeetle Mother takes the form of a giant centipede-like creature. It is composed of roughly thirteen (visible) dark green segments (excluding the head) that each (excluding the rear) bear one pair of similarly colored legs. The final segment bears no legs, but what appears to be a pair of mandibles. Each of these segments is covered on the top side with a hard crystal covering. Its head is composed primarily of a gigantic pair of jaws/mandibles with a gem in the back of the "mouth". This gem is circular in shape and colored light green with dark green contour lines surrounding the circumference of the gem, connecting to a circular shape. Its gem seems to act as its iris, being in the middle of what would rationally be a sclera. It also features a green crystal protuberance on the base of the head that forms a broken horn-like structure. It has a flowing, light-cream colored mane immediately behind its head.

After being released from the bubble in the episode "Monster Buddies" and regenerating, it appears in an all-around reduced form. Its body is reduced to only two segments, and its mane, head, and secondary mandibles have been reduced in size as well probably indicating that it has to grow over time. This can be seen as the Centipeetle Mother grows throughout the episode. Its gem now comprises the entirety of its whole eyeball instead of just the iris, and the gem on its head is now gone.

## Abilities

* **Hybrid Arthropod Physiology:** Due to having the appearance of two arthropods, specifically a centipede and a beetle, the Centipeetle Mother has the innate abilities of both organisms.
	+ **Chilopodan Physiology**: Like a centipede, the Mother uses its jaws to attack enemies or prey. Both employ deadly substances in their attacks. The centipede uses venom while the Mother uses a corrosive liquid.
	+ **Coleopteran Physiology:** Like a beetle, the Mother's defenses are increased due to the hard gem-like covering on each segment possesses.
	+ **Climbing Skills:** It is able to climb vertical walls and sheer cliff faces.
* **Creature Creation:** The Centipeetle Mother has the ability to produce and command Centipeetles that aid it in battle.
* **Corrosive Liquid Generation:** It can produce an extremely corrosive substance that can easily erode various materials, ranging from wood to stone to ice. It can use this corrosive substance as a projectile to attack from afar or assault enemies with a constant torrent of the substance to easily break down their defenses.
	+ **Rotative Spitting:** In "Monster Buddies", the small Centipeetle Mother is seen to be able to rotate its head many times. It utilized this in that it spun its head rapidly and sprayed its corrosive substance, showering the immediate area in a manner extremely similar to that of a sprinkler.

It can eat with its mouth, even though its eye is also in its mouth and there is no visible means of having the ingested food reach any sort of stomach.

## Trivia

* When the Centipeetle Mother was reforming itself after it escaped from the bubble, it briefly took a humanoid form before taking its latest form.
	+ It was revealed in "Ocean Gem" that the Centipeetle Mother, along with most of the monsters previously fought, used to be humanoid Gems. Unfortunately, the Gem became corrupted, turning them into the monsters they are now.
	+ The Centipeetle Mother is the first corrupted Gem that Steven defeats, the first to be released from its bubble and reform.
* Its gemstone bears a resemblance to a PokéBall from the popular Nintendo series, *Pokémon*.
	+ The Centipeetle Mother appearance in "Monster Buddies" may be a reference to *Pokémon* as the monster was originally antagonistic toward Steven before being defeated. After Steven releases it from the bubble, he trains it to follow his directions and fight for him. When it is damaged by the falling ice stalactite, it returns to its gemstone.
* Its name is a play on the words *centipede* and *beetle*.
	+ The monster resembles a centipede as it contains multiple segments that only contain a single pair of legs each and it also resembles a beetle in the sense that it has a hard covering that protects it per segment.
* The Centipeetle Mother serves as the antagonist of the iOS game Crystal Gem Smash.
* The boss monster on the fifth world in the mobile game Attack the Light resembles a reddish-black Centipeetle with three heads.
* It is unknown how the Centipeetle creates the small versions of itself.
* The Centipeetle Mother is the first Gem whose gemstone acts like another body part, that being an eye.
* The Centipeetle Mother is the first corrupted Gem seen in the series.