Polydesmida
| Polydesmida | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Apheloria virginiensis | |
Scientific classification  |
|
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Myriapoda |
| Class: | Diplopoda |
| Subclass: | Chilognatha |
| Infraclass: | Helminthomorpha |
| Superorder: | Merocheta |
| Order: | Polydesmida Leach, 1815 [1] |
| Suborders [2] | |
|
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Polydesmida is the largest order of millipedes, with more than 2,700 species in more than 170 genera,[3] including all the millipedes reported to produce hydrogen cyanide (HCN).[4]
Description
Members of the order Polydesmida are known as "flat-backed millipedes", because each body segment has wide lateral keels.[5] These keels are produced by the posterior half (metazonite) of each body ring behind the collum.[6] Polydemids have no eyes, and vary in length from 3 to 130 mm (0.12 to 5.1 in).[7] Including the telson, adults have 19 or 20 rings, while juveniles may have from 7 to 19 rings.[6]
Ecology
Polydesmids are very common in leaf litter, where they burrow by levering with the anterior end of the body.[5]
References
- ^ Robert Mesibov (2005). "A new genus of millipede (Diplopoda: Polydesmida: Dalodesmidae) from Tasmania with a pseudo-articulated gonopod telopodite" (PDF). Zootaxa 1064: 39–49.
- ^ "Polydesmida". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
- ^ Natalie G. R. Bergholz (2007). "The millipede Poratia obliterata". Ecological traits and genetic variation in Amazonian populations of the neotropical millipede Poratia obliterata (Kraus, 1960) (Diplopoda: Pyrgodesmidae) (Brazil). Volume 2 of Invertebrate Ecology and Conservation Monographs. Pensoft Publishers. pp. 17–26. ISBN 978-954-642-290-3.
- ^ Thomas Eisner (2005). "Vinegaroons and other wizards". For Love of Insects. Harvard University Press. pp. 44–73. ISBN 978-0-674-01827-3.
- ^ a b Colin Little (1983). "Onychophorans and myriapods". The Colonisation of Land: Origins and Adaptations of Terrestrial Animals. Cambridge University Press. pp. 127–145. ISBN 978-0-521-25218-8.
- ^ a b J. Gordon Blower (1985). "Order Polydesmida". Millipedes: Keys and Notes for the Identification of the Species. Issue 35 of Synopses of the British Fauna (2nd ed.). Brill Publishers. pp. 192–221. ISBN 978-90-04-07698-3.
- ^ William H. Robinson (2005). "Other arthropods in the urban environment". Handbook of Urban Insects and Arachnids. Cambridge University Press. pp. 389–440. ISBN 978-0-521-81253-5.
External links
Data related to Polydesmida at Wikispecies
Media related to Polydesmida at Wikimedia Commons- External Anatomy of Polydesmida
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