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Millipede

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For other uses, see Millipede (disambiguation).

iMillipedes

Rusty millipede (Trigoniulus corallinus)

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Myriapoda
Class:	Diplopoda de Blainville in Gervais, 1844

Subclasses

Helminthomorpha
Penicillata
Pentazonia

Millipedes (Class Diplopoda, previously also known as Chilognatha) are very elongated arthropods with cylindrical bodies that have two pairs of legs for each one of their 20 to 100 or more body segments (except for the first segment behind the head which does not have any appendages at all, and the next few which only have one pair of legs). Each segment that has two pairs of legs is a result of two single segments fused together as one. This class contains around 10,000 species. The Giant African Millipede is the largest species of millipede. These animals are detritivores, slow and nonvenomous; unlike the somewhat similar and closely related centipedes (Class Chilopoda), which can be easily distinguished by their single pair of legs for each body segment. Most millipedes eat decaying leaves and other dead plant matter, moisturizing the food with secretions and then scraping it in with the jaws. However they can also be a minor garden pest, especially in greenhouses where they can cause severe damage to emergent seedlings. Signs of millipede damage include the stripping of the outer layers of a young plant stem and irregular damage to leaves and plant apices.

This class of arthropods is thought to be among the first animals to colonize land during the Silurian geologic period. These early forms probably ate mosses and primitive vascular plants.

Indeed, the very oldest known land animal, Pneumodesmus newmani, was a centimeter-long millipede.

1 Characteristics
2 Defense mechanisms
3 Millipedes as pets
4 Gallery
5 References
6 See also
7 External links

[edit] Characteristics

Image:Shongololo Equatorial guinea.jpg

The millipede's most obvious feature is its large number of legs. In fact its name is a compound word formed from the Latin roots milli ("thousand") and ped ("foot"). Despite their name, these creatures do not have a thousand legs, although the rare species Illacme plenipes have up to 750.<ref>See "Most leggy millipede rediscovered" BBC News, 8 June 2006</ref> However, common species have between 80 and 400 legs.

Having very many short legs makes millipedes rather slow, but they are powerful burrowers. With their legs and body length moving in a wavelike pattern, they easily force their way underground head first. They also seem to have some engineering ability, reinforcing the tunnel by rearranging the particles around it.

The head contains a pair of sensory organs known as the Tömösváry organs. These are found just posterior and lateral to the antennae, and are shaped as small and oval rings at the base of the antennae. They are probably used to measure the humidity in the surroundings, and they may have some chemoreceptory abilities too.

Some millipede species may be amphibious.

[edit] Defense mechanisms

Image:MillipedeToesToxin.png

Due to their lack of speed and their inability to bite or sting, millipedes' primary defense mechanism is to curl into a tight coil—protecting their delicate legs inside an armoured body exterior. Many species also emit a somewhat poisonous liquid secretion or hydrogen cyanide gas through microscopic pores along the sides of their bodies as a secondary defense.<ref>Blum & Woodring. 1962. Secretion of Benzaldehyde and Hydrogen Cyanide by the Millipede Pachydesmus crassicutis. Science 138:513.</ref><ref name="MJA-Mason">Mason G, Thompson H, Fergin P, Anderson R (1994). "The burning millipede". Med J Aust 160: 718, 726.</ref><ref> Kuwahara Y, Omura H, Tanabe T (2002). "2-Nitroethenylbenzenes as natural products in millipede defense secretions". Naturwissenschaften 89 (7): 308-10. PMID 12216861.</ref> Some of these substances are acidic and can burn the exoskeleton of ants and other insect predators, and the skin and eyes of larger predators. Lemurs have been known to intentionally irritate millipedes in order to rub the chemicals on themselves to repel insect pests, and possibly to produce a psychoactive effect.

As far as humans are concerned, this chemical brew is fairly harmless, usually causing only minor effects on the skin, the main effect being discoloration, but other effects may also include pain, itching, local erythema, edema, blisters, excema, and occasionally cracked skin.<ref name="MJA-Mason"/><ref>Shpall S, Frieden I (1991). "Mahogany discoloration of the skin due to the defensive secretion of a millipede". Pediatr Dermatol 8 (1): 25-7. PMID 1862020.</ref><ref>Radford A (1976). "Giant millipede burns in Papua New Guinea". P N G Med J 18 (3): 138-41. PMID 1065155.</ref><ref> Radford A (1975). "Millipede burns in man.". Trop Geogr Med 27 (3): 279-87. PMID 1103388.</ref> Eye exposures to these secretions causes general eye irritation and potentially more severe effects such as conjunctivitis and keratitis.<ref> Hudson B, Parsons G. "Giant millipede 'burns' and the eye". Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 91 (2): 183-5. PMID 9196764.</ref> First aid consists of flushing the area thoroughly with water, further treatment is aimed at relieving the local effects.

[edit] Millipedes as pets

Many millipedes are quite docile and may safely be kept as pets and handled without risk of injury. The Giant African Millipede is a common pet millipede. These can be found at pet stores for reasonable prices. With the proper caging and feeding, pet millipedes can live up to about 7 years and grow to be 11 inches long.

[edit] Gallery

Pill Millipede, Western Ghats, India	Sri Lankan Giant Millipede	A number of millipedes - found under a rock	Small backyard millipede, Sydney, Australia
Giant African Millipede