Colobognatha Explained

Colobognatha is a clade (formally considered a subterclass) of helminthomorph millipedes containing four orders: Platydesmida, Polyzoniida, Siphonocryptida, and Siphonophorida.^[1]

Description

The Colobognatha are united by several shared traits (synapomorphies). Males have two pairs of simple, leg-like gonopods, consisting of the rear leg pair of body segment 7 and the foreword-most leg pair of segment 8. They possess tubular defensive glands that open on the sides of the body, and lack a palp-like structure on their gnathochilaria. Other traits found in colobognathans, but not exclusively, include a distinctly narrow head, lack of Tömösváry organs, and no more than two pairs of ocelli.^{[2] [3]}

Notes and References

1. Shear. W.. Class Diplopoda de Blainville in Gervais, 1844. In: Zhang, Z.-Q. (Ed.) Animal biodiversity: An outline of higher-level classification and survey of taxonomic richness. Zootaxa. 2011. 3148. 159–164. Shear2011.
2. Web site: Millipede Body Organization. Milli-PEET: The class Diplopoda. The Field Museum, Chicago. 18 March 2014. 31 October 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131031022026/http://fieldmuseum.org/explore/milli-peet-millipede-body-organization. dead.
3. Web site: Putative apomorphies of millipede clades. Milli-PEET: Millipede Systematics. The Field Museum, Chicago, IL. 26 September 2006. 19 March 2014. 26 December 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151226035255/https://www.fieldmuseum.org/sites/default/files/millipede_apomorphies.pdf. dead.