# Polydesmidae > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Polydesmidae > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Polydesmidae.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polydesmidae > Source revision: 1354746837 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Family of millipedes}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Polydesmus collaris MG 1723.jpg | image_caption = ''[Polydesmus collaris](/source/Polydesmus_collaris)'' in central Italy | display_parents = 3 | taxon = Polydesmidae | authority = [Leach](/source/William_Elford_Leach), 1815 | subdivision_ranks = Genera | subdivision = See text }} '''Polydesmidae''' is a [family](/source/Family_(taxonomy)) of [millipede](/source/millipede)s in the order [Polydesmida](/source/Polydesmida).{{cite web|url=http://www.catalogueoflife.org/col/browse/tree/id/19829990|title=Polydesmidae|website=Catalogue of Life|date=29 October 2014|accessdate=7 November 2014}} This family includes more than 240 species in more than 30 genera. These millipedes have a mostly [Holarctic](/source/Holarctic_realm) distribution that extends south not only to [Mexico](/source/Mexico) and [North Africa](/source/North_Africa) but also as far as [Java](/source/Java). Most species are found in the [Mediterranean](/source/Mediterranean_basin) region.{{Cite journal |last1=Nguyen |first1=Anh D. |last2=Vu |first2=Tam T. T. |last3=Eguchi |first3=Katsuyuki |date=2024-01-30 |title=The millipede family Polydesmidae Leach, 1816 (Diplopoda, Polydesmida) from Vietnam, with a description of a new cavernicolous species |journal=ZooKeys |issue=1190 |pages=259–280 [259] |doi=10.3897/zookeys.1190.114958 |doi-access=free |issn=1313-2970 |pmc=10848813 |pmid=38327265|bibcode=2024ZooK.1190..259N }}{{Cite journal |last=Anh |first=Nguyen Duc |date=2009-06-01 |title=A new species of the family Polydesmidae (Diplopoda: Polydesmida) from Vietnam |url=https://brill.com/ |journal=International Journal of Myriapodology |language=en |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=63–68 [63] |doi=10.1163/187525409X462421|url-access=subscription }} == Description == These millipedes range from 4 mm to 30 mm in length. Colors range from pitch black through reddish or brownish to pallid and are rarely vivid. The collum is small, in the shape of a transverse oval, with a smooth anterior margin. The [paranota](/source/Tergum) are simple but usually well developed and dentate laterally.{{Cite book |last1=Enghoff |first1=Henrik |title=The Myriapoda |last2=Golovatch |first2=Sergei |last3=Short |first3=Megan |last4=Stoev |first4=Pavel |last5=Wesener |first5=Thomas |publisher=Koninklijke Brill NV |year=2015 |isbn=978-90-04-15612-8 |editor-last=Minelli |editor-first=Alessandro |volume=2 |location=Leiden, The Netherlands |pages=402 |chapter=Diplopoda — Taxonomic Overview}} This family includes the notable species ''[Polydesmus progressus](/source/Polydesmus_progressus)'', which exhibits [sexual dimorphism](/source/sexual_dimorphism) in segment number: Whereas adult females of this species feature the 20 segments (counting the collum as the first segment and the [telson](/source/telson) as the last) usually observed on the [order](/source/Order_(biology)) [Polydesmida](/source/Polydesmida), the adult males feature only 19 segments.{{Cite journal |last=Brölemann |first=H.W. |date=1900 |title=Myriapodes cavernicoles descriptions d'espèces nouvelles |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/8249607#page/88/mode/1up |journal=Annales de la Société entomologique de France |language=French |volume=69 |issue=1 |pages=73-81 [78-80] |via=Biodiversity Heritage Library}}{{Cite journal |last1=Enghoff |first1=Henrik |last2=Dohle |first2=Wolfgang |last3=Blower |first3=J. Gordon |date=1993 |title=Anamorphosis in Millipedes (Diplopoda) – The Present State of Knowledge with Some Developmental and Phylogenetic Considerations |url=https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article-abstract/109/2/103/2646268?redirectedFrom=fulltext |journal=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=109 |issue=2 |pages=103–234 [147] |doi=10.1111/j.1096-3642.1993.tb00305.x|url-access=subscription }} ==Genera== thumb|Male ''Nipponesmus shirinensis'' from Taiwan in ventral and lateral view {{commons category}} {{div col|colwidth=21em}} *''[Antrochodus](/source/Antrochodus)'' *''[Archipolydesmus](/source/Archipolydesmus)'' *''[Basicentrus](/source/Basicentrus)'' *''[Bhutanodesmus](/source/Bhutanodesmus)'' *''[Bidentogon](/source/Bidentogon)'' *''[Bosniodesmus](/source/Bosniodesmus)'' *''[Bosporodesmus](/source/Bosporodesmus)'' *''[Brachydesmus](/source/Brachydesmus)'' *''[Brembosoma](/source/Brembosoma)'' *''[Calianotus](/source/Calianotus)'' *''[Chromobrachydesmus](/source/Chromobrachydesmus)'' *''[Cretodesmus](/source/Cretodesmus)'' *''[Dixidesmus](/source/Dixidesmus)'' *''[Epanerchodus](/source/Epanerchodus)'' *''[Eumastigonodesmus](/source/Eumastigonodesmus)'' *''[Goniodesmus](/source/Goniodesmus)'' *''[Haplobrachidesmus](/source/Haplobrachidesmus)'' *''[Haplocookia](/source/Haplocookia)'' *''[Heterocookia](/source/Heterocookia)'' *''[Himalodesmus](/source/Himalodesmus)'' *''[Hispaniodesmus](/source/Hispaniodesmus)'' *''[Huzichodus](/source/Huzichodus)'' *''[Jaxartes](/source/Jaxartes_(millipede))'' *''[Kirgisdesmus](/source/Kirgisdesmus)'' *''[Leptobrachydesmus](/source/Leptobrachydesmus)'' *''[Lophobrachydesmus](/source/Lophobrachydesmus)'' *''[Mastigonodesmus](/source/Mastigonodesmus)'' *''[Mastuchus](/source/Mastuchus)'' *''[Merioceratium](/source/Merioceratium)'' *''[Niponchodus](/source/Niponchodus)'' *''[Nipponesmus](/source/Nipponesmus)'' *''[Nomarchus](/source/Nomarchus)'' *''[Pacidesmus](/source/Pacidesmus)'' *''[Peltogonopus](/source/Peltogonopus)'' *''[Perapolydesmus](/source/Perapolydesmus)'' *''[Polydesmus](/source/Polydesmus)'' *''[Prionomatis](/source/Prionomatis)'' *''[Propolydesmus](/source/Propolydesmus)'' *''[Pseudopolydesmus](/source/Pseudopolydesmus)'' *''[Retrorsia](/source/Retrorsia)'' *''[Riuerchodus](/source/Riuerchodus)'' *''[Sardodesmus](/source/Sardodesmus)'' *''[Schedoleiodesmus](/source/Schedoleiodesmus)'' *''[Schizobrachydesmus](/source/Schizobrachydesmus)'' *''[Schizomeritius](/source/Schizomeritius)'' *''[Schizoturanius](/source/Schizoturanius)'' *''[Scytonotus](/source/Scytonotus)'' *''[Serradium](/source/Serradium)'' *''[Spanobrachium](/source/Spanobrachium)'' *''[Speodesmus](/source/Speodesmus)'' *''[Stylobrachydesmus](/source/Stylobrachydesmus)'' *''[Telopoditius](/source/Telopoditius)'' *''[Tolosanius](/source/Tolosanius)'' *''[Trachynotus](/source/Trachynotus)'' *''[Troglobrachydesmus](/source/Troglobrachydesmus)'' *''[Turanodesmus](/source/Turanodesmus)'' *''[Uniramidesmus](/source/Uniramidesmus)'' *''[Usbekodesmus](/source/Usbekodesmus)'' *''[Utadesmus](/source/Utadesmus)'' {{div col end}} ==References== {{Reflist}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q6446271}} Category:Polydesmida Category:Millipede families {{Polydesmida-stub}} --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Polydesmidae](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polydesmidae) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polydesmidae?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.