|
Polydesmida
Polydesmida (from the Greek ''poly'' "many" and ''desmos'' "bond") is the largest order of millipedes, with more than 5,000 species, including all the millipedes reported to produce hydrogen cyanide (HCN). This order is also the most diverse of the millipede orders in terms of morphology. Millipedes in this order are found in all regions of the world other than Antarctica. Description Members of the order Polydesmida are also known as flat-backed millipedes, because on most species, each body segment has wide lateral keels known as paranota. These keels are produced by the posterior half (metazonite) of each body ring behind the collum. Polydesmids have no eyes, and vary in length from 1.4 to 134 mm. Many of the larger species show bright coloration patterns which warn predators of their toxic secretions. Adults usually have 20 segments, counting the collum as the first ring and the telson as the last ring. Juveniles have from 7 to 19 rings. In species with the usual 20 seg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Millipede
Millipedes (originating from the Latin , "thousand", and , "foot") are a group of arthropods that are characterised by having two pairs of jointed legs on most body segments; they are known scientifically as the class Diplopoda, the name derived from this feature. Each double-legged segment is a result of two single segments fused together. Most millipedes have very elongated cylindrical or flattened bodies with more than 20 segments, while pill millipedes are shorter and can roll into a tight ball. Although the name "millipede" derives from Latin for "thousand feet", no species was known to have 1,000 or more until the discovery in 2020 of '' Eumillipes persephone'', which can have over 1,300 legs. There are approximately 12,000 named species classified into 16 orders and around 140 families, making Diplopoda the largest class of myriapods, an arthropod group which also includes centipedes and other multi-legged creatures. Most millipedes are slow-moving detritivores, eat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Collum (millipedes)
Millipedes (originating from the Latin , "thousand", and , "foot") are a group of arthropods that are characterised by having two pairs of jointed legs on most body segments; they are known scientifically as the class Diplopoda, the name derived from this feature. Each double-legged segment is a result of two single segments fused together. Most millipedes have very elongated cylindrical or flattened bodies with more than 20 segments, while pill millipedes are shorter and can roll into a tight ball. Although the name "millipede" derives from Latin for "thousand feet", no species was known to have 1,000 or more until the discovery in 2020 of ''Eumillipes persephone'', which can have over 1,300 legs. There are approximately 12,000 named species classified into 16 orders and around 140 families, making Diplopoda the largest class of myriapods, an arthropod group which also includes centipedes and other multi-legged creatures. Most millipedes are slow-moving detritivores, eating deca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brachydesmus
''Brachydesmus'' is a genus of millipedes belonging to the family Polydesmidae. The Czech zoologist Camill Heller first described this genus to contain the type species '' B. subterraneus.'' This genus now includes about 75 described species. Distribution This genus has a Paleactic distribution, with about 70 species in Europe and nearly 80 percent of these European species found in the Balkans. A few species are native to the Caucasus region, Anatolia, Hyrcania, and the Levant. The common species '' B. superus'' is especially widespread, found throughout Europe and introduced to the United States, Cape Verde, Madeira, the Azores, and the Canaries. Description This genus includes both small and medium-sized polydesmid millipedes. Species in this genus feature little pigmentation or lack pigment altogether. The head features abundant bristles and long antennae and is broader than the collum. The paranota are well developed. The posterior corners of the anterior segments ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Macrosternodesmus
''Macrosternodesmus'' is a monotypic genus of flat-backed millipede in the order Polydesmida, and ''Macrosternodesmus palicola'' is the only species in this genus. Authorities disagree regarding the family in which this genus belongs: Some authorities place this genus in the family Macrosternodesmidae. whereas others place this genus in the family Trichopolydesmidae. This millipede is a synanthrope widely distributed in western Europe. This species is the smallest millipede in Europe, reaching only 4 mm in length, and features only 19 segments (counting the collum as the first segment and the telson as the last) rather than the 20 segments more commonly observed in the order Polydesmida. Distribution This species is found in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. This millipede is widespread in Great Britain and Ireland but absent from much of northern Scotland, north Wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prosopodesmus Panporus
''Prosopodesmus panporus'' is a species of flat-backed millipede in the family Haplodesmidae. Also known as the hothouse millipede, this species was first discovered in hothouses for tropical plants in England, where it is well established, but is probably native to Australia. This species features a unique distribution of ozopores, which appear on all segments with two pairs of legs. The species ''P. panporus'' is named for this complete series of ozopores and is the only species in the order Polydesmida with this distribution. This millipede is also notable for exhibiting sexual dimorphism in segment number: Whereas adult females of this species feature the 20 segments usually observed in the order Polydesmida (counting the collum as the first segment and the telson as the last), the adult males of this species feature only 19 segments. Discovery and distribution This species was first described in 1980 by the British myriapodologist John Gordon Blower and Adrian J. Rundle. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deharvengius
''Deharvengius'' is a monotypic genus of flat-backed millipede in the family Trichopolydesmidae, and ''Deharvengius bedosae'' is the only species in this genus. This millipede is notable as one of the very few species in the order Polydesmida to feature adults with only 18 segments (counting the collum as the first segment and the telson as the last) rather than the 20 segments usually found in this order. This species is found in Vietnam. Discovery This genus and its type species were first described in 2014 by the biologists Sergei Golovatch, Jean-Jacques Geoffroy, and Didier VandenSpiegel. They based the original description of this genus and its only species on a male holotype and twelve paratypes (three males, four females, and five juveniles). This genus and this species are named in honor of the biologists Louis Deharveng and Anne Bedos of the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris. Deharveng and Bedos extracted the type specimens from soil collected in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ammodesmidae
Ammodesmidae is a family of small millipedes endemic to Africa, containing seven species in two genera. Ammodesmids range from long with 18 or 19 body segments (including the telson) in both sexes, and are capable of rolling into a tight sphere. Ammodesmidae contains two genera: ''Ammodesmus'', with three species known from West Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and ''Elassystremma'', with four species known from East Africa. Adult ''Ammodesmus'' range from 1.4–2 mm in length, and adult males possess a last pair of legs strongly modified: bearing long whip-like bristles (setae) and with vestigial claws. Males of the genus ''Elassystremma'' lack the modified rear legs, and are larger, from 3.3–5 mm. ''Ammodesmus'' The genus ''Ammodesmus'' was named in 1896 by Orator F. Cook in the description of ''Ammodesmus granum''. The genus was thought restricted to West Africa (Guinea, Liberia and Ivory Coast) until the 2015 description of ''A. congoensis'' from the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agenodesmus Reticulatus
''Agenodesmus reticulatus'' is a species of millipede in the family Fuhrmannodesmidae, which some authorities consider a junior synonym of Trichopolydesmidae. This millipede is among the very few species in the order Polydesmida to feature adults with only 18 segments (including the telson) rather than the 20 segments usually found in this order. This species is notable as the first polydesmidan millipede discovered with only 18 segments in adults, the smallest number recorded in the order Polydesmida. Before the discovery of ''A. reticulatus'', polydesmidans were known to have only 19 or 20 segments in adults. Discovery and distribution The American biologists Orator F. Cook and Harold F. Loomis found the first specimens of ''A. reticulatus'', including the male type specimen and several females, in Haiti in June 1927. Eleven more specimens were found in 1930 and 1932, including mature females as well as young, in not only Haiti but also Saint Kitts, Saint Lucia, Dominica, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Devillea (millipede)
''Devillea'' is a genus of flat-backed millipedes in the family Xystodesmidae. These millipedes are rare and limited to caves. Species in this genus are found in Sardinia, Capri, and southern France in the Maritime Alps. These species are notable for featuring more than the 20 segments (counting the collum as the first segment and the telson as the last) usually found in the order Polydesmida. This genus is one of only two genera in this order to feature these extra segments and the first such genus to be discovered. Discovery The French myriapodologist Henri W. Brölemann created this genus to contain the newly discovered type species '' D. tuberculata'' in 1902. The original descriptions of this genus and this species are based on multiple specimens of each sex collected from caves near Tourettes-sur-Loup and in Saint-Jeannet near Vence, both in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region of southern France in the Maritime Alps. Brölemann named this genus for M.J. Sainte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doratodesmus Hispidus
''Doratodesmus hispidus'' is a species of flat-backed millipede in the family Haplodesmidae. This millipede is found in Papua New Guinea. This millipede is notable for featuring only 18 segments (counting the collum as the first segment and the telson as the last) in each sex rather than the 20 segments normally observed in the order Polydesmida. Discovery and distribution This species was first described in 1978 by the American zoologist Richard L. Hoffman. He based the original description of this species on an adult male holotype, four adult paratypes (two males and two females), and three immature specimens. These specimens were found in 1975 in the Selminum Tem cave on the Finim Tel plateau in the Western Province of Papua New Guinea. This species is still known only from this cave. The male holotype and paratypes including both sexes are deposited in the National Museum of Natural History in Sofia in Bulgaria. Taxonomy Hoffman originally described this species as the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doratodesmus Pholeter
''Doratodesmus'' ''pholeter'' is a is a species of flat-backed millipede in the family Haplodesmidae. This millipede is found in Papua New Guinea. This species is notable for featuring adult males with only 18 segments (counting the collum as the first segment and the telson as the last) rather than the 20 segments normally observed in the order Polydesmida. This species also exhibits sexual dimorphism in segment number, with 19 segments in adult females but only 18 segments in adult males. Discovery and distribution This species was first described in 1978 by the American zoologist Richard L. Hoffman. He based the original description of this species on an adult male holotype, an adult female paratype, and four immature females. These specimens were found in 1975 in the upper west chamber of the Bitip Cave on the Finim Tel plateau in the Western Province of Papua New Guinea. This species is still known only from this cave. The male holotype and female paratype are deposited i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gonopod (millipede)
Gonopods are specialized appendages of various arthropods used in reproduction or egg-laying. In males, they facilitate the transfer of sperm from male to female during mating, and thus are a type of intromittent organ. In crustaceans and millipedes, gonopods are modified walking or swimming legs. Gonopods may be highly decorated with elaborate structures which may play roles in sperm competition, and can be used to differentiate and identify closely related species. Gonopods generally occur in one or more pairs, as opposed to the single (un-paired) reproductive organs such as the aedeagus of insects or the penis of harvestmen. Insects In insects, gonopods are appendages of the genital segment that may be used in insemination, or that comprise the egg-laying apparatus. Crustaceans In male decapod crustaceans, gonopods are modified swimming appendages (pleopods). The anterior two pair of pleopods in males are modified for sperm transferring, with differing degree of morphologi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
