Millipedes
Rusty millipede (Trigoniulus corallinus)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Subphylum: Myriapoda Class: Diplopoda De Blainville in Gervais, 1844 [1]
Subclasses, orders and families
See text Look up millipede in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Things commonly known as Millipede include: Millipede — the animal Millipede — a video game Millipede — a MEMS technology for non-volatile data storage This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Download high resolution version (950x784, 274 KB)Photograph of a millipede taken by Eric Guinther on Oahu, Hawaii. ... For other uses, see Scientific classification (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Animal (disambiguation). ... Subphyla and Classes Subphylum Trilobitomorpha Trilobita - trilobites (extinct) Subphylum Chelicerata Arachnida - spiders,scorpions, etc. ... Classes [1] Chilopoda Diplopoda Pauropoda Symphyla Myriapoda is a subphylum of arthropods containing millipedes, centipedes and others. ... Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville (September 12, 1777 - May 1, 1850) was a French zoologist and anatomist. ... Paul Gervais (September 26, 1816 - February 10, 1879) was a French palaeontologist. ...

Millipedes (Class Diplopoda, previously also known as Chilognatha) are arthropods that have two pairs of legs per segment (except for the first segment behind the head which does not have any appendages at all, and the next few which only have one pair of legs). Each segment that has two pairs of legs is a result of two single segments fused together as one. Most millipedes have very elongated cylindrical bodies, although some are flattened dorso-ventrally, while pill millipedes are shorter and can roll into a ball, like a pillbug. Millipedes are detritivores and slow moving. Most millipedes eat decaying leaves and other dead plant matter, moisturising the food with secretions and then scraping it in with the jaws. However they can also be a minor garden pest, especially in greenhouses where they can cause severe damage to emergent seedlings. Signs of millipede damage include the stripping of the outer layers of a young plant stem and irregular damage to leaves and plant apices. Subphyla and Classes Subphylum Trilobitomorpha Trilobita - trilobites (extinct) Subphylum Chelicerata Arachnida - spiders,scorpions, etc. ... An insect leg The arthropod leg is a form of jointed appendage of arthropods, usually used for walking. ... An appendage is, in general, an external body part that projects from the body, or a natural prolongation or projection from a part of any organism. ... Subclasses, orders and families See text. ... Genera Not a complete list Alloschizidium Armadillidium Ballodillium Cristarmadillidium Cyphodillidium Echinarmadillidium Eleoniscus Eluma Paraschizidium Paxodillidium Platanosphaera Schizidium Trichodillidium Troglarmadillidium Typhlarmadillidium Armadillidiidae is a terrestrial family of the order Isopoda. ... A dung beetle rolling a ball of dung Detritivores (also known as saprophages, detrivores or detritus feeders) are organisms that recycle detritus (decomposing organic material), returning it into the food chain. ... Look up foliage in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see Plant (disambiguation). ... The Royal Greenhouses of Laeken. ...

This class contains around 10,000 species. There are 13 orders and 115 families.

The giant African millipede (Archispirostreptus gigas) is the largest species of millipede. Archispirostreptus gigus, the african millepede is the largest of the millepedes. ...

Millipedes can be easily distinguished from the somewhat similar and closely related centipedes (Class Chilopoda), which move rapidly, and have a single pair of legs for each body segment. For other uses, see Centipede (disambiguation). ... For the arcade game called Centipede see Centipede (video game). ...

This class of arthropods is thought to be among the first animals to have colonised land during the Silurian geologic period. These early forms probably ate mosses and primitive vascular plants. The oldest known land animal, Pneumodesmus newmani, was a 1 centimetre-long millipede. The Silurian is a major division of the geologic timescale that extends from the end of the Ordovician period, about 443. ... In geology, a period or age is a time span of many millions of years that are assumed to have had similar characteristics. ... For other uses, see Moss (disambiguation). ... Divisions Non-seed-bearing plants †Rhyniophyta †Zosterophyllophyta Lycopodiophyta †Trimerophytophyta Pteridophyta Ophioglossophyta Superdivision Spermatophyta †Pteridospermatophyta Pinophyta Cycadophyta Ginkgophyta Gnetophyta Magnoliophyta The vascular plants, tracheophytes or higher plants are plants in the kingdom Plantae that have specialized tissues for conducting water, minerals, and photosynthetic products through the plant. ... Binomial name Pneumodesmus newmani Pneumodesmus newmani is the name given to the oldest known fossil land animal, a one-centimetre millipede which lived perhaps 428 million years ago. ... A centimetre (American spelling centimeter, symbol cm) is a unit of length that is equal to one hundredth of a metre, the current SI base unit of length. ...

Characteristics

The North American millipede Narceus americanus, showing the abundance of legs typical for many millipedes

The millipede's most obvious feature is its large number of legs. In fact, its name is a compound word formed from the Latin roots milli ("thousand") and ped ("foot"). Despite their name, these creatures do not have a thousand legs, although the rare species Illacme plenipes have up to 750 ^[2]. However, common species have between 80 and 400 legs. Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Narceus americanus is a large North American millipede. ... For other uses, see Latin (disambiguation). ... Illacme plenipes is a species of millipede living in Central California, the only one coming even close to living up to its name -- millipede means thousand feet in Greek. ...

Having very many short legs makes millipedes rather slow, but they are powerful burrowers. With their legs and body length moving in a wavelike pattern, they easily force their way underground head first. They also seem to have some engineering ability, reinforcing the tunnel by rearranging the particles around it.

The head contains a pair of sensory organs known as the Tömösváry organs. These are found just posterior and lateral to the antennae, and are shaped as small and oval rings at the base of the antennae. They are probably used to measure the humidity in the surroundings, and they may have some chemoreceptory abilities too. Millipede eyes consist of a number of simple flat lensed ocelli arranged in a group on the front/side of the head. Many species of millipedes such as cave-dwelling millipedes, have secondarily lost their eyes. Insects display a wide variety of antennal shapes. ...

In very rare instances, a millipede may be amphibious. For other uses, see Amphibian (disambiguation). ...

Defense mechanisms

This foot injury was caused by an American millipede in reaction to being crushed against the foot, unknowingly inserted into the shoe in which it was sheltering.

Due to their lack of speed and their inability to bite or sting, millipedes' primary defense mechanism is to curl into a tight coil — protecting their delicate legs inside an armoured body exterior. Many species also emit poisonous liquid secretions or hydrogen cyanide gas through microscopic pores along the sides of their bodies as a secondary defence ^[3][4][5]. Some of these substances are caustic and can burn the exoskeleton of ants and other insect predators, and the skin and eyes of larger predators. Lemurs have been observed intentionally irritating millipedes in order to rub the chemicals on themselves to repel insect pests, and possibly to produce a psychoactive effect. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixelsFull resolution (1728 × 1152 pixel, file size: 4. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixelsFull resolution (1728 × 1152 pixel, file size: 4. ... An exoskeleton is an external anatomical feature that supports and protects an animals body, in contrast to the internal endoskeleton of, for example, a human. ... For other uses, see Species (disambiguation). ... The skull and crossbones symbol (Jolly Roger) traditionally used to label a poisonous substance. ... R-phrases , , , , . S-phrases , , , , , , , , . Flash point −17. ... Look up caustic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... An exoskeleton is an external anatomical feature that supports and protects an animals body, in contrast to the internal endoskeleton of, for example, a human. ... For other uses, see Ant (disambiguation). ... Orders Subclass Apterygota Archaeognatha (bristletails) Thysanura (silverfish) Subclass Pterygota Infraclass Paleoptera (Probably paraphyletic) Ephemeroptera (mayflies) Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) Infraclass Neoptera Superorder Exopterygota Grylloblattodea (ice-crawlers) Mantophasmatodea (gladiators) Plecoptera (stoneflies) Embioptera (webspinners) Zoraptera (angel insects) Dermaptera (earwigs) Orthoptera (grasshoppers, etc) Phasmatodea (stick insects) Blattodea (cockroaches) Isoptera (termites) Mantodea (mantids) Psocoptera... Superfamilies and Families Cheirogaleoidea Cheirogaleidae Lemuroidea Lemuridae Lepilemuridae Indriidae Lemurs make up the infraorder Lemuriformes and are members of a class of primates known as prosimians . ... A psychoactive drug or psychotropic substance is a chemical that alters brain function, resulting in temporary changes in perception, mood, consciousness, or behaviour. ...

As far as humans are concerned, this chemical brew is fairly harmless, usually causing only minor effects on the skin, the main effect being discoloration, but other effects may also include pain, itching, local erythema, edema, blisters, eczema, and occasionally cracked skin ^[4][6][7][8]. Eye exposures to these secretions causes general eye irritation and potentially more severe effects such as conjunctivitis and keratitis ^[9]. First aid consists of flushing the area thoroughly with water; further treatment is aimed at relieving the local effects. This article is about modern humans. ... Erythema is an abnormal redness of the skin caused by capillary congestion. ... This page is about the condition called edema. ... For the packaging type, see Blister pack. ... For the beetle, see Exema. ... First aid is a series of simple, life-saving medical techniques that a non-doctor or layman can be trained to perform. ...

Millipedes as pets

Many millipedes are quite docile and may safely be kept as pets and handled without risk of injury. The giant African millipede (Archispirostreptus gigas) is a common pet. These can be found at pet stores for reasonable prices. Sometimes very similar millipedes can be bought under the name Lophostreptus rutilans but in most cases it is just Archispirostreptus gigas. With the proper caging and feeding, pet millipedes can live up to about 7 years and grow to be as long as 15 inches. Archispirostreptus gigus, the african millepede is the largest of the millepedes. ...

Classification

The Class Diplopoda is divided into fifteen orders in three subclasses ^[10]. The subclass Penicillata contains 160 species millipedes whose exoskeleton is not calcified, and which are covered in setae or bristles. The subclass Pentazonia contains the short-bodied pill millipedes, which are capable of rolling themselves into a ball (volvation). The subclass Helminthomorpha contains the great majority of the species ^[11][12]. Look up seta in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Subclasses, orders and families See text. ...

• Subclass Helminthomorpha Pocock, 1887
  • Order Callipodida Bollman, 1893
  • Order Chordeumatida Koch, 1847
  • Order Julida Brandt, 1833
  • Order Platydesmida DeSaussure, 1860
  • Order Polydesmida Pocock, 1887
  • Order Polyzoniida Gervais, 1844
  • Order Siphoniulida Cook, 1895
  • Order Siphonophorida Hoffman, 1980
  • Order Spirobolida Bollman, 1893
  • Order Spirostreptida Brandt, 1833
  • Order Stemmiulida Pocock, 1894
• Subclass Penicillata Latreille, 1831
  • Order Polyxenida Lucas, 1840
• Subclass Pentazonia Brandt, 1833
  • Order Glomerida Leach, 1814
  • Order Glomeridesmida Latzel, 1884
  • Order Sphaerotheriida Brandt, 1833
    • Family Sphaerotheriidae Brandt, 1833
    • Family Sphaeropoeidae Brölemann, 1913

Families Allopocockiidae Atopetholidae Floridobolidae Hoffmanobolidae Messicobolidae Pseudospirobolellidae Rhinocricidae Spirobolellidae Spirobolidae Typhlobolellidae Pachybolidae Trigoniulidae The order Spirobolida is a species-rich (more than 900 described species) and important group of millipedes. ... Orders Glomerida Sphaerotheriida Synonyms Armadillomorpha Verhoeff, 1915 A comparison of the pill millipede and isopod armidillidium Pill millipedes make up two orders of millipedes, often grouped together into a single superorder, Oniscomorpha. ... Orders Glomerida Sphaerotheriida Synonyms Armadillomorpha Verhoeff, 1915 A comparison of the pill millipede and isopod armidillidium Pill millipedes make up two orders of millipedes, often grouped together into a single superorder, Oniscomorpha. ... Genera See text Sphaerotheriidae is a family of pill millipedes of the class Diplopoda. ...

Gallery

Harpaphe haydeniana, a species from the Pacific Northwest of North America Image File history File links Harpaphe_haydeniana_002. ... Binomial name Harpaphe haydeniana Wood, 1864 Harpaphe haydeniana (the yellow-spotted millipede, almond-scented millipede or cyanide millipede) is a millipede found in the moist forests along the Pacific coast of North America, from California to British Columbia and Alaska. ... The Pacific Northwest from space The Pacific Northwest, abbreviated PNW, or PacNW is a region in the northwest of North America. ...

Polydesmus angustus, a European species Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 499 pixelsFull resolution (1948 × 1216 pixel, file size: 501 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

Glomeris marginata, a European pill millipede Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 529 pixelsFull resolution (1169 × 773 pixel, file size: 160 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Binomial name (Villers, 1789) Synonyms Oniscus marginata Villers, 1789 [1] Glomeris marginata is a common European species of pill millipede. ... Subclasses, orders and families See text. ...

The giant millipede Archispirostreptus gigas mating Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2560x1920, 2907 KB) Mating Giant african millipedes, the upper one is female. ... Archispirostreptus gigus, the african millepede is the largest of the millepedes. ...

References

Wikispecies has information related to:

Diplopoda

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Diplopoda