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Sphaerotheriida
Sphaerotheriida is an order (biology), order of millipedes in the infraclass Pentazonia, sometimes known as giant pill millipedes. They inhabit Southern Africa, Madagascar, South and Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Like the Northern Hemisphere pill millipedes of the order Glomerida, these millipedes can roll into a ball when disturbed. When they are rolled-up, most sphaerotheriidans reach a maximum size of a cherry or golf ball, but some species from Madagascar can even reach the size of an orange (an example of island gigantism; illustration . When rolled-up, predators are unable to unravel giant pill millipedes since the margins of their second and last dorsal plates fit perfectly into one another, creating a sealed ball. A few giant pill millipede species are able to produce sound, the only millipedes known to do this. This order of millipedes is also unique in that some African species are used for medicinal purposes. Morphology Sphaerotheriidans are characterized ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sphaerotheriidae
Sphaerotheriidae is a family (biology), family of giant pill millipedes of the class (biology), class Diplopoda. Millipedes of this family are distributed in southern Africa. Genera :''Sphaerotherium'' Johann Friedrich von Brandt, Brandt, 1833, 54 species, South Africa, Zimbabwe :''Kylindotherium'' Carl Attems, Attems, 1926, monotypic, South Africa References Sphaerotheriida Millipedes of Africa Millipede families {{Millipede-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Telopod
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] |
