Polydesmidae

Polydesmidae
Polydesmus collaris in central Italy
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Myriapoda
Class: Diplopoda
Order: Polydesmida
Family: Polydesmidae
Leach, 1815
Genera

See text

Polydesmidae is a family of millipedes in the order Polydesmida.[1] This family includes more than 240 species in about 30 genera. These millipedes have a mostly Holarctic distribution that extends south not only to Mexico and North Africa but also as far as Java.[2]

Description

These millipedes range from 4 mm to 30 mm in length. Colors range from pitch black through reddish or brownish to pallid and are rarely vivid. The collum is small, in the shape of a transverse oval, with a smooth anterior margin. The paranota are simple but usually well developed and dentate laterally.[2] This family includes species notable for featuring sexual dimorphism in segment number: Adult females in the genus Perapolydesmus have the usual 20 segments (counting the collum as the first segment and the telson as the last), but the adult males have only 19.[3]

Genera

Male Nipponesmus shirinensis from Taiwan in ventral and lateral view
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References

  1. ^ "Polydesmidae". Catalogue of Life. 29 October 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  2. ^ a b Enghoff, Henrik; Golovatch, Sergei; Short, Megan; Stoev, Pavel; Wesener, Thomas (2015). "Diplopoda — Taxonomic Overview". In Minelli, Alessandro (ed.). The Myriapoda. Vol. 2. Leiden, The Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill NV. p. 402. ISBN 978-90-04-15612-8.
  3. ^ Enghoff, Henrik; Dohle, Wolfgang; Blower, J. Gordon (1993). "Anamorphosis in Millipedes (Diplopoda) — The Present State of Knowledge with Some Developmental and Phylogenetic Considerations". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 109 (2): 103–234. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1993.tb00305.x.


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