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Millipede

Chilopoda

Photo by misako
Published on Project Noah
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37.8347, -122.279

Field Notes

Description:

Millipedes are arthropods that have two pairs of legs per segment (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. Most millipedes have very elongated cylindrical bodies, although some are flattened dorso-ventrally, while pill millipedes are shorter and can roll into a ball, like a pillbug.
The name "millipede" is a compound word formed from the Latin roots mille ("thousand") and pes ("foot"). Despite their name, no known millipede has 1,000 legs, although the rare species Illacme plenipes has up to 750.[2] Common species have between 36 and 400 legs. The class contains around 10,000 species in 13 orders and 115 families. The giant African millipede (Archispirostreptus gigas), is the largest species of millipede.
Millipedes are detritivores and slow moving. Most millipedes eat decaying leaves and other dead plant matter, moisturising the food with secretions and then scraping it in with their jaws. However, they can also be minor garden pests, 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, the very top of a plant.
Millipedes can be easily distinguished from the somewhat similar and related centipedes (Class Chilopoda), which move rapidly, and have a single pair of legs for each body segment.
Wikipedia

Habitat:

Urban house garden.

Notes:

Both centipedes and millipedes have segmented bodies and belong to Superclass Myriapoda. Both breathe through spiracles and have no direct copulatory organs. However, many differences exist between centipedes and millipedes.

Centipedes are terrestrial arthropods belonging to Class Chilopoda. Centipedes are flexible, dorsoventrally flattened arthropods. Millipedes belong to Class Diplopoda and are inflexible arthropods distinguishable by their subcylindrical shape. Centipedes have one pair of legs per body segment, while millipedes have two pairs.

While most centipedes are known for their speed, millipedes move slowly and burrow.

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (4)

Thank you for the correct ID LaurenZarate!
This looks like a centipede, but it has 2 pair of legs per segment so it has to be a Millipede.
Thank you Yuko--this website has definitely helped me get over my bug phobia!
You're quite brave to be able to take these photos! I've overcome fears of many bugs, but I just can't get over the fear for centipedes.... Someday, Project Noah will change that for me...

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