Spirostreptida is an

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...

of long, cylindrical

millipede Millipedes 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 re ...

s. There are approximately 1000 described species, making Spirostreptida the third largest order of millipedes after

Polydesmida Polydesmida (from the Greek ''poly'' "many" and ''desmos'' "bond") is the largest order of millipedes, containing approximately 3,500 species, including all the millipedes reported to produce hydrogen cyanide (HCN). Description Members of the or ...

and

Chordeumatida Chordeumatida (from the Greek word for "sausage") is a large order of millipedes containing some 1200 species with a nearly worldwide distribution. Also known as "sausage millipedes," they possess around 30 body segments behind the head (includi ...

Description

Spirostreptida are generally large, long and cylindrical, with 30 to 90 body rings. Eyes are present in most. This order contains the longest millipedes known: the giant African millipedes of the genus ''

Archispirostreptus ''Archispirostreptus'' is a genus of giant African millipedes in family Spirostreptidae, containing 26 species: * ''Archispirostreptus arabs'' Pocock, 1876 * ''Archispirostreptus beccarii'' Silvestri, 1895 * ''Archispirostreptus boettegi'' Silve ...

'' that may exceed .

Distribution

Spirostreptida contains mainly tropical species, and occurs in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Southern Asia Southern Asia may refer to: * South Asia, a geopolitical macroregion of SAARC countries * Southern Asia, a geographical subregion in Asia spanning the Iranian Plateau and the Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographica ...

to Japan, Australia, and the

Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, th ...

from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

Evolutionary history

Like most millipede groups, they have a fragmentary fossil record. The oldest record of the group is the extinct family Electrocambalidae, which is known from the

Burmese amber Burmese amber, also known as Burmite or Kachin amber, is amber from the Hukawng Valley in northern Myanmar. The amber is dated to around 100 million years ago, during the latest Albian to earliest Cenomanian ages of the mid-Cretaceous period. ...

of Myanmar, dating to the Cenomanian stage of the

Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', ...

around 99 million years ago, which belongs to the suborder Cambalidea. The only other fossil records of the group are '' Protosilvestria'' from the

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but ...

of France, which belongs to either Cambalidae or Cambalopsidae, and an undescribed species of '' Epinannolene'' (Pseudonannolenidae) from the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recent" ...

aged

Dominican amber Dominican amber is amber from the Dominican Republic derived from resin of the extinct tree ''Hymenaea protera''. Dominican amber differentiates itself from Baltic amber by being nearly always transparent, and it has a higher number of fossil incl ...

Classification

The order comprises two suborders, Cambalidea and Spirostreptidea, the latter further divided into two superfamilies.
Cambala minor

Suborder Cambalidea
:

Cambalidae Cambalidae is a family of millipedes in the order Spirostreptida Spirostreptida is an order of long, cylindrical millipedes. There are approximately 1000 described species, making Spirostreptida the third largest order of millipedes after Polyd ...

Cambalopsidae Cambalopsidae, is a family of Round-backed millipedes of the order Spirostreptida. The family includes species belongs to 16 genera. Genera *''Agastrophus'' *'' Cambalopsis'' *'' Chonecambala'' *'' Dolichoglyphius'' *''Glyphiulus ''Glyphiul ...

(includes the former

Glyphiulidae Glyphiulidae, is a family of Round-backed millipedes of the order Spirostreptida. The family includes 112 species belonging to 16 genera. Genera *''Agastrophus'' *'' Cambalomorpha'' *'' Dolichoglyphius'' *'' Formosoglyphius'' *'' Glyphijulus'' ...

and Pericambalidae) :

Choctellidae ''Choctella'' is a genus of millipedes in the monotypic family Choctellidae. Its two species are native to the south-eastern United States. '' C. cumminsi'' Chamberlin, 1918, occurs on the Cumberland Plateau The Cumberland Plateau is the sout ...

Iulomorphidae Iulomorphidae is a family of millipedes in the order Spirostreptida Spirostreptida is an order of long, cylindrical millipedes. There are approximately 1000 described species, making Spirostreptida the third largest order of millipedes after P ...

Pseudonannolenidae Pseudonannolenidae is a family of millipedes belonging to the order Spirostreptida Spirostreptida is an order of long, cylindrical millipedes. There are approximately 1000 described species, making Spirostreptida the third largest order of mill ...

:† Electrocambalidae Suborder Spirostreptidea
:Superfamily Odontopygoidea ::

Atopogestidae Atopogestidae is a family of millipedes belonging to the order Spirostreptida Spirostreptida is an order (biology), order of long, cylindrical millipedes. There are approximately 1000 described species, making Spirostreptida the third largest ...

Odontopygidae Odontopygidae is a family of millipedes belonging to the order Spirostreptida Spirostreptida is an order (biology), order of long, cylindrical millipedes. There are approximately 1000 described species, making Spirostreptida the third largest ...

:Superfamily Spirostreptoidea ::

Adiaphorostreptidae Adiaphorostreptidae is a family of millipedes belonging to the order Spirostreptida Spirostreptida is an order (biology), order of long, cylindrical millipedes. There are approximately 1000 described species, making Spirostreptida the third ...

Harpagophoridae Harpagophoridae is a family of round-backed millipedes of the order Spirostreptida. The family includes 269 species belonging to 55 genera, distributed in Africa, Southeast Asia, and the East Indies, as well as a few Indian Oceanic islands. Two ...

Spirostreptidae Spirostreptidae is a family of millipedes in the order Spirostreptida. It contains around 100 genera distributed in North and South America, the eastern Mediterranean, continental Africa, Madagascar, and Seychelles. It contains the following gene ...

Select species

*''

Phyllogonostreptus nigrolabiatus ''Phyllogonostreptus nigrolabiatus'' is a common species of millipede found in India, and Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-s ...

- ''a large species from India * ''

Spinotarsus caboverdus ''Bandeirenica caboverda'', locally known in Cape Verde as "mil-pés" (Portuguese language, Portuguese for "thousand-feet"), is a species of millipedes of the family Odontopygidae. It is endemic to Cape Verde, where it occurs in the islands of Sa ...

- ''a species that has become an agricultural pest in

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

References

External links

* * * Millipede orders {{myriapoda-stub