Numbers
10 families in our area • ~5,750 spp. in >1,200 genera of 44 families total
(1)Identification
18‒22 body rings (usually 20). Dorsal groove absent. Large paranota give a flattened appearance to many species, although paranota lacking in some species. Members of some families vividly colored with red, yellow, orange and black. Eyes absent.
Remarks
The largest millipede order, and the only one that includes producers of cyanogenics that are converted into hydrogen cyanide as a defense.
(2) Many species possess these compounds (
Shear 2015).
See Also
Some Chordeumatida (e.g. in Rhiscosomididae, Striariidae, Tingupidae) have prominent paranota and a similar "flat-back" appearance, but possess >25 body segments.