Trichopolydesmidae is a

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

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 derive ...

in the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

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 ...

. Some authorities deem this family to include Fuhrmannodesmidae, Mastigonodesmidae, Macrosternodesmidae, and Nearctodesmidae as junior synonyms. Others adopt narrower definitions of this family, for example, including only Fuhrmannodesmidae and Mastigonodesmidae as synonyms. Under the broader definition, this family includes about 140

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

distributed among about 75

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

. These species are found mainly in the

Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined by humans as being in the same celestial sphere, celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the Solar ...

, especially in the

tropics The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

but also in

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...

regions. About 80 species and 55 genera are tropical, whereas about 60 species and 20 genera are

Holarctic The Holarctic realm is a biogeographic realm that comprises the majority of habitats found throughout the continents in the Northern Hemisphere. It corresponds to the floristic Boreal Kingdom. It includes both the Nearctic zoogeographical reg ...

Description

Millipedes in this family (broadly defined) are small, ranging from 2 mm to 20 mm in length. These millipedes have 18, 19, or 20 segments, counting the collum as the first segment and the

telson The telson () is the hindmost division of the body of an arthropod. Depending on the definition, the telson is either considered to be the final segment (biology), segment of the arthropod body, or an additional division that is not a true segm ...

as the last. This family includes two genera ('' Galliocookia'' and '' Occitanocookia'') notable for featuring

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, di ...

in segment number: Adult females in these genera have the 20 segments usually found in this order, but adult males have only 19. This family also includes the species '' Deharvengius bedosae'', notable for being among the very few species in this order to feature adults with only 18 segments rather than the 20 segments usually found in polydesmids.

Genera

Some authorities include the following genera in this family: * '' Adisia'' Golovatch, 1994 * '' Aporodesmella'' Golovatch, Geoffroy & VandenSpiegel, 2014 * '' Bacillidesmus'' Attems, 1898 * '' Bactrodesmus'' Cook, 1896 * '' Balkanodesminus'' Antić, Vagalinski, Stoev & Akkari, 2022 * '' Balkanodesmus'' Antić & Reip, 2014 * '' Banatodesmus'' Tabacaru, 1980 * '' Cachania'' Schubart, 1955 * '' Caucasodesmus'' Golovatch, 1985 * '' Cottodesmus'' Verhoeff, 1936 * ''

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 ...

'' Golovatch, Geoffroy & VandenSpiegel, 2013 * '' Eburodesmus'' Schubart, 1955 * '' Enantiogonus'' Loomis, 1961 * '' Esperanzella'' Kraus, 1960 * '' Eutynellus'' Chamberlin, 1940 * '' Galliocookia'' Ribaut, 1955 * '' Gonatodesmus'' Golovatch, Geoffroy & VandenSpiegel, 2013 * '' Haplocookia'' Brölemann, 1915 * '' Harpogonopus'' Loomis, 1960 * '' Helicodesmus'' Golovatch, Geoffroy & VandenSpiegel, 2014 * '' Hemisphaeroparia'' Schubart, 1955 * '' Ingurtidorgius'' Strasser, 1974 * '' Mastigonodesmus'' Silvestri, 1898 * '' Mauritacantha'' Mauriès & Geoffroy, 1999 * '' Mecistoparia'' Brölemann, 1926 * '' Monstrodesmus'' Golovatch, Geoffroy & VandenSpiegel, 2014 * '' Napocodesmus'' Ceuca, 1974 * '' Occitanocookia'' Mauriès, 1980 * '' Physetoparia'' Brölemann, 1920 * '' Rhodopodesmus'' Antić, Vagalinski, Stoev & Akkari, 2022 * '' Sakophallus'' Chamberlin, 1941 * '' Simplogonopus'' Vagalinski, Golovatch, Akkari & Stoev, 2019 * '' Solentanodesmus'' Antić, Reip, Dražina, Rađa & Makarov, 2014 * '' Sphaeroparia'' Attems, 1909 * '' Trichopolydesmus'' Verhoeff, 1898 * '' Trilobodesmus'' Golovatch & Mauriès, 2007 * '' Velebitodesmus'' Antić, Reip, Dražina, Rađa & Makarov, 2014 * '' Verhoeffodesmus'' Strasser, 1959

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6448353 Polydesmida