You are here
Taxonomy
Diplopoda
EOL Text
Little Sexual Dimorphism other than gonopodia; females sometimes longer and thicker than males; occasional Sexual Dimorphism in color.
| License | http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | Fairbairn, 2013 |
| Source | http://datadryad.org/resource/doi:10.5061/dryad.n48cm |
Millipedes live on land, but they need to live in moist places, and most live in forested areas (though there are plenty in grasslands and other habitats too)
Habitat Regions: temperate ; tropical ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: taiga ; chaparral ; forest ; rainforest ; scrub forest ; mountains
Wetlands: marsh ; swamp
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2012, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
| Source | http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Diplopoda/ |
Millipedes eat dead plant material. They have bacteria and other microbes in their digestive system that helps them break down the dead leaves and other foods they eat. They sometimes eat the dung of herbivores.
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2012, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
| Source | http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Diplopoda/ |
Millipedes can be important decomposers, especially in tropical forests.
Ecosystem Impact: biodegradation
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2012, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
| Source | http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Diplopoda/ |
Millipedes can't run fast, so they have protection. They curl up to protect their legs, and they give off toxic chemicals to poison their predators or at least taste bad.
Known Predators:
- Soricidae
- Aves
- Squamata
- Araneae
- Formicidae
- Coleoptera
- Anura
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2012, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
| Source | http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Diplopoda/ |
Animal / parasite / endoparasite
larva of Hymenolepis scalaris endoparasitises Diplopoda
In Great Britain and/or Ireland:
Animal / dung saprobe
colony of Umbelopsis ramanniana is saprobic in/on dung or excretions of dung of Diplopoda
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | BioImages, BioImages - the Virtual Fieldguide (UK) |
| Source | http://www.bioimages.org.uk/html/Diplopoda.htm |
Diplopoda (millipede) is prey of:
Amphisbaena caeca
Eleutherodactylus coqui
Eleutherodactylus richmondi
Eleutherodactylus portoricensis
Eleutherodactylus wightmanae
Todus mexicanus
Margarops fuscatus
Anolis gundlachi
Leptodactylus albilabris
Sphaerodactylus klauberi
Diploglossus pleei
Diptera
Falco sparverius
Anolis gingivinus
Based on studies in:
Puerto Rico, El Verde (Rainforest)
This list may not be complete but is based on published studies.
- Waide RB, Reagan WB (eds) (1996) The food web of a tropical rainforest. University of Chicago Press, Chicago
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | Cynthia Sims Parr, Joel Sachs, SPIRE |
| Source | http://spire.umbc.edu/fwc/ |
Diplopoda (millipede) preys on:
detritus
Eleutherodactylus coqui
Orthoptera
Auchenorrhyncha
Sternorrhyncha
fungi
Plantae
roots
Based on studies in:
USA: New Jersey (Agricultural)
Puerto Rico, El Verde (Rainforest)
This list may not be complete but is based on published studies.
- D. J. Shure, Radionuclide tracer analysis of trophic relationships in an old-field ecosystem, Ecol. Monogr. 43(1):1-19, from p. 15 (1973).
- Waide RB, Reagan WB (eds) (1996) The food web of a tropical rainforest. University of Chicago Press, Chicago
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | Cynthia Sims Parr, Joel Sachs, SPIRE |
| Source | http://spire.umbc.edu/fwc/ |
Millipedes have very poor vision. They probably communicate with touch and smell. A few species glow in the dark, probably to warn predators that they are poisonous.
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2012, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
| Source | http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Diplopoda/ |
Millipedes don't change their structure much as they grow. Babies look like small adults. As they grow they shed their exoskeleton to make more room.
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2012, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
| Source | http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Diplopoda/ |