Species Oxidus gracilis - Greenhouse Millipede

Classification · Other Common Names · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Size · Identification · Range · Season · Life Cycle · See Also · Internet References · Works Cited

Flat backed millipedes - Oxidus gracilis

Flat-backed Millipedes - mating pair? - Oxidus gracilis

Narrow Millipede - Posterior Dorsal - Oxidus gracilis

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Myriapoda (Myriapods)

Class Diplopoda (Millipedes)

Order Polydesmida (Flat-backed Millipedes)

Family Paradoxosomatidae

Genus Oxidus

Species gracilis (Greenhouse Millipede)

Other Common Names

Hothouse millipede, Short-flange millipede, Garden millipede

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Oxidus gracilis (C. L. Koch) 1847 (1)

Orig. comb. Fontaria gracilis C. L. Koch, 1847

Syn. Paradesmus dasys Bollman, 1887; Orthomorpha gracilis: Bollman, 1893; Orthomorpha dasys: Bollman, 1893; Kepolydesmus sontus Chamberlin, 1910; Oxidus gracilis: Cook, 1911

Size

16-21mm long, 2-2.5mm wide

Identification

Body color chestnut to reddish black with amber-colored legs and paranota. Mid-body paranota are rather blunt and rounded (not extending past posterior segment margin), but increase in length and sharpness towards the tail. A transverse groove is present on each body segment, a trait shared with other Paradoxosomatids. (2)

Range

Native to Asia, cosmopolitan; in our area: E. North Amer., Calif. and other western states, but generally not the Rocky Mtn states - Map (3)

Season

year round, but most common in the Summer (3)

Life Cycle

Lays clutches of 40-150 eggs in all months of the year, reaches maturity in 5 to 6 months. (2)

See Also

Asiomorpha coarctata, which has sharper paranota (midbody keels projecting behind segment margin), a somewhat darker body color, and longer gonopods- reaching 5th segment legs (vs short to 6th segment legs in O. gracilis).

See comparison here.

Internet References

Short-flange Millipede: Cook Islands Biodiversity Database

EoL

Works Cited

1.	Checklist of the millipeds of North and Middle America Richard L. Hoffman. 1999. Virginia Museum of Natural History Special Publications.

2.	Millipedes: Keys and notes for the identification of the species J. Gordon Blower. 1985. E.J. Brill/Dr. W. Backhuys.

3.	Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)

Contributed by Tony DiTerlizzi on 1 August, 2005 - 8:27am
Additional contributions by Beatriz Moisset, Mike Quinn, Vox Sciurorum, biosam
Last updated 8 June, 2019 - 7:28pm

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