#10 Millipedes

#10 Millipede

Common Name: Millipede

Description

- About 3cm in length

- completely black

- Anatomy: Exoskeleton, segments, legs, eyes and metathoracic glands

- The exoskeleton is made up of three layers; the first layer is the epidermis, the second layer is soft, flexible chitin, and the third layer is stiffened and hardened chitin.

- As the millipede ages it will shed it's skin for a new one.

- The millipede has a head and a long segmented body, each segment contains two legs.

- The number of legs ranges from 100-400.

- Millipede eyes can detect light and dark but are unable to produce images.

- The metathoracic glands warn off predators by producing tiny gas clouds of hydrogen cyanide, which is poisonous to predators but won't harm humans.

- Millipedes have bilateral symmetry.

Taxonomy

- Kingdom: Animalia

- Phylum: Arthropoda

- Class: Dipopoda

- Order: Spirobolia

- Family: Schizopetalidae

- Genus: Tynomma

- Species: Magnum

Ecology

- Millipedes eat dead leaves and wood along with other decaying things. They are very essential to the environment.

- Millipedes hibernate in winter and when under attack they release chemicals or curl up into a ball so predators can't get at them.

- Millipedes are often sold as exotic pets and used for breeding.