Polydesmidae Explained

Polydesmidae is a family of millipedes in the order Polydesmida.^[1] This family includes more than 240 species in about 30 genera. These millipedes have a mostly Holarctic distribution that extends south not only to Mexico and North Africa but also as far as Java.

Description

These millipedes range from 4 mm to 30 mm in length. Colors range from pitch black through reddish or brownish to pallid and are rarely vivid. The collum is small, in the shape of a transverse oval, with a smooth anterior margin. The paranota are simple but usually well developed and dentate laterally.^[2] This family includes species notable for featuring sexual dimorphism in segment number: Adult females in the genus Perapolydesmus have the usual 20 segments (counting the collum as the first segment and the telson as the last), but the adult males have only 19.^[3]

Genera

• Antrochodus
• Archipolydesmus
• Basicentrus
• Bhutanodesmus
• Bidentogon
• Bosniodesmus
• Bosporodesmus
• Brachydesmus
• Brembosoma
• Calianotus
• Chromobrachydesmus
• Cretodesmus
• Dixidesmus
• Epanerchodus
• Eumastigonodesmus
• Goniodesmus
• Haplobrachidesmus
• Haplocookia
• Heterocookia
• Himalodesmus
• Hispaniodesmus
• Huzichodus
• Jaxartes
• Kirgisdesmus
• Leptobrachydesmus
• Lophobrachydesmus
• Mastigonodesmus
• Mastuchus
• Merioceratium
• Niponchodus
• Nipponesmus
• Nomarchus
• Pacidesmus
• Peltogonopus
• Perapolydesmus
• Polydesmus
• Prionomatis
• Propolydesmus
• Pseudopolydesmus
• Retrorsia
• Riuerchodus
• Sardodesmus
• Schedoleiodesmus
• Schizobrachydesmus
• Schizomeritius
• Schizoturanius
• Scytonotus
• Serradium
• Spanobrachium
• Speodesmus
• Stylobrachydesmus
• Telopoditius
• Tolosanius
• Trachynotus
• Troglobrachydesmus
• Turanodesmus
• Uniramidesmus
• Usbekodesmus
• Utadesmus

Notes and References

1. Web site: Polydesmidae. Catalogue of Life. 29 October 2014. 7 November 2014.
2. Book: Enghoff . Henrik . The Myriapoda . Golovatch . Sergei . Short . Megan . Stoev . Pavel . Wesener . Thomas . Koninklijke Brill NV . 2015 . 978-90-04-15612-8 . Minelli . Alessandro . 2 . Leiden, The Netherlands . 402 . Diplopoda — Taxanomic Overview.
3. Enghoff . Henrik . Dohle . Wolfgang . Blower . J. Gordon . 1993 . Anamorphosis in Millipedes (Diplopoda) — The Present State of Knowledge with Some Developmental and Phylogenetic Considerations . Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society . 109 . 2 . 103–234. 10.1111/j.1096-3642.1993.tb00305.x .