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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Myriapods (Myriapoda) » Millipedes (Diplopoda) » Platydesmida

Order Platydesmida

pinkish Calif. platydesmid - Brachycybe rosea Orange Millipedes - Brachycybe Brachycybe lecontii (?) - Brachycybe petasata Millipedes - Brachycybe producta Millipede in Cave Point Cave, probably Brachycybe sp. - Brachycybe lecontii Millipede - Brachycybe Millipede - Brachycybe Andrognathids - Gosodesmus claremontus
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Myriapoda (Myriapods)
Class Diplopoda (Millipedes)
Order Platydesmida
Numbers
Two families worldwide, 1 in North America.
About a dozen species north of Mexico.
Size
Up to 60mm
Identification
Body flat with tiny heads and 30 to 192 body rings. Eyes absent. Paranota always present. In males the 9th and 10th pairs of legs are modified as sex organs (gonopods). The usual color is pink. The rough dorsal surface has a narrow longitudinal groove. (1)
Range
North America occurrence: southern West Virginia and central Kentucky to southern Alabama, Louisiana, and western Arkansas; Idaho; northern California (2)
See Also
Millipedes in order Polyzoniida lack paranota and a dorsal longitudinal groove, and are more round than flat.
Internet References
2 Kansas School Naturalist
Works Cited
1.Spiders and Their Kin: A Golden Guide from St. Martin's Press
Herbert W. Levi, Lorna R. Levi, Nicholas Strekalovsky. 2001. St. Martin's Press.
Contributed by Lynette Elliott on 16 April, 2005 - 6:53pm
Additional contributions by biosam
Last updated 4 October, 2013 - 10:00pm

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