Platydesmida

Platydesmida
	Brachycybe lecontii (Androganthidae), a species found in eastern North America.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Diplopoda
Subclass:	Chilognatha
Infraclass:	Helminthomorpha
Order:	Platydesmida; Cook, 1895
Families
	Andrognathidae ; Platydesmidae

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.

Description

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

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 Bazillozonium and Yamasinaium from Japan, all are in the family Andrognathidae.^[3]^[4]

Distribution

Platydesmidans occur in North America, Central America, the Mediterranean region of Europe, Japan, China, southeast Asia and Indonesia.^[5]

Classification

The order contains two families.^[6]

Family Andrognathidae Cope, 1869

Family Platydesmidae DeSaussure, 1860

Desmethus
Platydesmus

References

^ 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.
^ "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.
^ 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.
^ Shelley, Rowland M. (1999). "Centipedes and Millipedes with Emphasis on North American Fauna". The Kansas School Naturalist. 45 (3): 1–16.
^ http://www.catalogueoflife.org/col/browse/tree/id/17063536