Summary
Platydesmida (Greek for platy "flat" and desmos "bond") is an order of millipedes containing two families and over 60 species.[1] Some species practice paternal care, in which males guard the eggs.
| Platydesmida | |
|---|---|
| |
| Brachycybe lecontii (Androganthidae), a species found in eastern North America | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Myriapoda |
| Class: | Diplopoda |
| Subclass: | Chilognatha |
| Infraclass: | Helminthomorpha |
| Subterclass: | Colobognatha |
| Order: | Platydesmida Cook, 1895 |
| Families | |
Description edit
Platydesmidans have a flattened body shape with lateral extensions (paranota) on each segment. They lack eyes, and have between 30 and 110 body segments. They measure up to 60 mm (2.4 in) in length.[2]
Behavior edit
While most millipedes feed on dead or decomposing leaf litter platydesmidans may be specialized to feed on fungi. Platydesmidans have also been studied with regard to parental investment, in that males of some species coil around eggs and young, a rare example of paternal care in arthropods. This behavior has been observed in species of Brachycybe from North America and Japan, and Yamasinaium from Japan, all are in the family Andrognathidae.[3][4]
Evolutionary history edit
The only described fossil of the order is from the Mid Cretaceous (~100 Ma) Burmese amber, belonging to the extant genus Andrognathus, several undescribed specimens belonging to the order are known from the same deposit.[5]
Distribution edit
Platydesmidans occur in North America, Central America, the Mediterranean region of Europe, Japan, China, southeast Asia and Indonesia.[6]
Classification edit
The order contains two families.[7]
Family Andrognathidae Cope, 1869
- Andrognathus
- Bazillozonium
- Brachycybe
- Corcyrozonium
- Dolistenus
- Fioria
- Gosodesmus
- Ischnocybe
- Mitocybe
- Pseudodesmus
- Sumatronium
- Symphyopleurium
- Trichozonium
- Yamasinaium
- Zinaceps
- Zinazonium
Family Platydesmidae DeSaussure, 1860
- Desmethus
- Platydesmus
References edit
- ^ Shear, W. (2011). "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" (PDF). Zootaxa. 3148: 159–164. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3148.1.32.
- ^ "Diagnostic features of Millipede Orders" (PDF). Milli-PEET Identification Tables. The Field Museum, Chicago. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
- ^ KUDO, Shin-ichi; KOSHIO, Chiharu; TANABE, Tsutomu (2009). "Male egg-brooding in the millipede Yamasinaium noduligerum (Diplopoda: Andrognathidae)". Entomological Science. 12 (3): 346–347. doi:10.1111/j.1479-8298.2009.00331.x. S2CID 85390085.
- ^ Kudo, Shin-Ichi; Akagi, Yoshinobu; Hiraoka, Shuichiro; Tanabe, Tsutomu; Morimoto, Gen (2011). "Exclusive Male Egg Care and Determinants of Brooding Success in a Millipede". Ethology. 117 (1): 19–27. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0310.2010.01851.x.
- ^ Moritz, Leif; Wesener, Thomas (September 2019). "The first known fossils of the Platydesmida—an extant American genus in Cretaceous amber from Myanmar (Diplopoda: Platydesmida: Andrognathidae)". Organisms Diversity & Evolution. 19 (3): 423–433. doi:10.1007/s13127-019-00408-0. ISSN 1439-6092. S2CID 195744191.
- ^ Shelley, Rowland M. (1999). "Centipedes and Millipedes with Emphasis on North American Fauna". The Kansas School Naturalist. 45 (3): 1–16. Archived from the original on 12 November 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
- ^ "Catalogue of Life - 24th September 2018 : Taxonomic tree". www.catalogueoflife.org. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
Further reading edit
- Costa, James T. (2006). "Other Social Arthropds: Arachnids, Centipedes, Millipedes, and Crustaceans". The Other Insect Societies. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. pp. 667–716. ISBN 9780674021631.
External links edit
Media related to Platydesmida at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Platydesmida at Wikispecies- "Platydesmida" at the Encyclopedia of Life
