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CLASS DIPLOPODA.
INTRODUCTION;This class belongs to phylum Arthropoda which consisted of millipedes.The name Diplopoda comes from two Greek terms which are ‘diplos’ meaning two and ‘poda’ meaning legs,therefore the name Diplopoda refers to the organism with two legs per segment.
THE GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS.
• They have exoskeleton containing chitin.• Body bilaterally symmentrical.• Body segments grouped into specialized regions
which are stagmata and plural.• Jointed appendages for feeding,locomotion and
sensing.
UNIQUE AND SHAIRED CHARACTERISTICS.
• They have two stagmata(head and trunk)• One pair of antennae usually seven segments.• Two pairs of legs on most trunk segment (30 or more
pairs total)• Their mouth parts have one pair of mandible and one
pair of maxillae.• Eyes present some do not have eyes.• Cylindical sometimes slightly flattered.• Gaseous exchange by tracheae.• They are herbivorous and detritivores.
IDENTIFICATION TECHNIQUES.
•Millipedes have 2 pairs of legs per segment.•Millipedes can curl up into a tight coil.•Millipedes do not bite.•They are slow walkers.•They have short antennae compare to centipedes.
The classification of the taxon.
.
VALUES AND THREATS TO THE TAXON.
Values;• They play an important role in utilizing the soil by breaking down
the dead plant matters.• They are the key to food chain,serving as food for such predators
as birds,frogs,lizards,turtles.
Threats;• They are likely to be affected by enviromental pollution with some
elements such as zinc,lead and cadmium since they are more sensitive poisons to millipedes.
• They are slow runner therefore they are easly to be hunted by the predators.
OTHER RELEVANT FACTS
• Some millipedes practice chemical warfare.
• When they hatch, millipedes only have 3 pairs of legs.
• When threatened, a millipede usually coils its body into a spiral.
• Male millipedes court females with songs and back rubs.
• Male millipedes have special "sex" legs called gonopods.
CONCLUSION.
Millipedes are sometimes confused with their many legged relatives the centipedes(CHILOPODA),but as mentioned above centipedes differ in some features like one pair of leg,also they are fast runners and they are carnivorous.
