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The shocking pink dragon millipede (Desmoxytes purpurosea) is a spiny and toxic millipede named for its vivid pink color. It was formally described in 2007 from a specimen collected at the Hup Pa Tard limestone cavern in the Uthai Thani Province of Thailand, within the Greater Mekong. Among the largest species of its genus, the adult millipede is approximately 3 cm (1.2 in) long. It lives in the open on leaf litter. It becomes gregarious after rain showers. The millipede has glands that produce hydrogen cyanide to protect it from predators, a fact advertised by its aposematic color. Because it produces cyanide, it smells like almonds.

The shocking pink dragon millipede was named third in the top ten new species list of 2008 by the International Institute for Species Exploration.

Other species of genus Desmoxytes can be brightly colored, sometimes in shades of red, as in Desmoxytes rubra.


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Desmoxytes, whose species are commonly known as the dragon millipedes, is a genus of millipede of the family Paradoxosomatidae found in southeast Asia. The genus was described by Ralph Vary Chamberlin in 1923 and reviewed by Sergei Golovatch and Henrik Enghoff in 1994. At least twenty-nine species are known from southeastern China to Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. One species, D. planata, has also been observed in Sri Lanka, the Andaman Islands, Seychelles, Java, Great Coco Island, and Fiji; however, this species has expanded its range by being transported through human activity. Several species have only recently been discovered and some have yet to be officially described.

Generally, species in this genus are striking in coloration and spiny, although several species are cave-dwelling, and show troglomorphic characters such as pale browinish coloration and long, narrow spines. This genus is unique for its sculptured, ornamented dorsum, and elaborate paranota. The maximum length for a species in this genus is around 3 centimeters (1.2 inches). Species in this genus also have the ability to produce hydrogen cyanide to ward off predators, which can give the dragon millipedes an almondlike smell.

Species

Other than D. planata, each species of dragon millipede is known primarily from only one or a few locations in their country of origin. Additionally, there is one species from Australia, Desmoxytoides hasenpuschorum, which is extremely similar to Desmoxytes but has been split into its own monotypic genus; there is speculation, even by the genus authority for Desmoxytoides, that this split is not necessary. Five species of Desmoxytes, including D. aspera, D. cervaria, D. draco, D. pilosa, and D. spectabilis, were originally placed in the separate genus Hylomus before it was lumped into Desmoxytes.


Desmoxytes eupterygota, a troglomorphic species from Hunan Province, China

Desmoxytes purpurosea, the "shocking pink dragon millipede," from Thailand
Binomial names Authority Year Range
Desmoxytes acantherpestes Golovatch & Enghoff 1994 Thailand
Desmoxytes aspera Attems 1937 Vietnam
Desmoxytes cattienensis Nguyen Duc Anh et al. 2005 Vietnam
Desmoxytes cervaria Attems 1953 Vietnam
Desmoxytes cervina Pocock 1895 Myanmar
Desmoxytes cornutus Zhang & Li 1982 People's Republic of China
Desmoxytes delfae Jeekel 1964 Thailand
Desmoxytes draco Cook & Loomis 1924 People's Republic of China
Desmoxytes enghoffi Nguyen Duc Anh et al. 2005 Vietnam
Desmoxytes eupterygota Golovatch et al. 2012 People's Republic of China
Desmoxytes getuhensis Liu, Golovatch & Tian 2014 People's Republic of China
Desmoxytes gigas Golovatch & Enghoff 1994 Thailand
Desmoxytes hostilis Golovatch & Enghoff 1994 Vietnam
Desmoxytes jeekeli Golovatch & Enghoff 1994 Thailand
Desmoxytes lingulata Liu, Golovatch & Tian 2014 People's Republic of China
Desmoxytes longispina Loksa 1960 People's Republic of China
Desmoxytes lui Golovatch et al. 2012 People's Republic of China
Desmoxytes minutuberculata Zhang 1986 People's Republic of China
Desmoxytes nodulosa Liu, Golovatch & Tian 2014 People's Republic of China
Desmoxytes parvula Liu, Golovatch & Tian 2014 People's Republic of China
Desmoxytes pilosa Attems 1937 Vietnam
Desmoxytes planata Pocock 1895 widespread
Desmoxytes proxima Nguyen Duc Anh et al. 2005 Vietnam
Desmoxytes pterygota Golovatch & Enghoff 1994 Thailand
Desmoxytes purpurosea Enghoff, Sutcharit & Panha 2007 Thailand
Desmoxytes rhinoceros Likhitrakarn, Golovatch & Panha 2015 Laos
Desmoxytes rhinoparva Likhitrakarn, Golovatch & Panha 2015 Laos
Desmoxytes rubra Golovatch & Enghoff 1994 Thailand
Desmoxytes scolopendroides Golovatch et al. 2010 People's Republic of China
Desmoxytes scutigeroides Golovatch et al. 2010 People's Republic of China
Desmoxytes specialis Nguyen Duc Anh et al. 2005 Vietnam
Desmoxytes spectabilis Attems 1937 Vietnam
Desmoxytes spinissima Golovatch et al. 2012 People's Republic of China
Desmoxytes taurina Pocock 1895 Myanmar
Desmoxytes terae Jeekel 1964 Malaysia,  Thailand

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Julida is an order of millipedes. Members are long and cylindrical, typically ranging from 10–120 millimetres (0.39–4.72 in) in length. Eyes may be present or absent, and in mature males of many species, the first pair of legs is modified into hook-like structures. Additionally, both pairs of legs on the 7th body segment of males are modified into gonopods.

Distribution

Julida contains predominantly temperate species ranging from North America to Panama, Europe, Asia north of the Himalayas, and Southeast Asia.

Classification

The order Julida contains approximately 750 species, divided into the following superfamilies and families:

Blaniuloidea C. L. Koch, 1847
Blaniulidae C. L. Koch, 1847
Galliobatidae Brolemann, 1921
Okeanobatidae Verhoeff, 1942
Zosteractinidae Loomis, 1943
Juloidea Leach, 1814
Julidae Leach, 18147
Rhopaloiulidae Attems, 1926
Trichoblaniulidae Verhoeff, 1911
Trichonemasomatidae Enghoff, 1991
Nemasomatoidea Bollman, 1893
Chelojulidae Enghoff, 1991
Nemasomatidae Bollman, 1893
Pseudonemasomatidae Enghoff, 1991
Telsonemasomatidae Enghoff, 1991
Paeromopodoidea Cook, 1895
Aprosphylosomatidae Hoffman, 1961
Paeromopodidae Cook, 1895
Parajuloidea Bollman, 1893
Mongoliulidae Pocock, 1903
Parajulidae Bollman, 1893

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Julidae is a family of millipedes in the order Julida, containing more than 600 species in around 20 genera. Its members are largely confined to the Western Palaearctic, with only a few species extending into the Oriental and Afrotropical ecozones. They are united by a characteristic form of the mouthparts, and are classified in the superfamily Juloidea of the order Julida, alongside the families Trichoblaniulidae, Rhopaloiulidae and Trichonemasomatidae.

Classification

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Julidae.
Allajulus
Anagaiulus
Anaulaciulus
Brachyiulus
Calyptophyllum
Catamicrophyllum
Cylindroiulus
Dolichoiulus
Enantiulus
Haplopodoiulus
Heteroiulus
Julus
Kryphioiulus
Leptoiulus
Mammamia
Megaphyllum
Nepalmatoiulus
Ommatoiulus
Ophyiulus
Pachyiulus
Pacifiiulus
Tachypodoiulus
Titanophyllum
Thyrophygus
Unciger
Select species

Brachyiulus pusillus
Cylindroiulus punctatus
Tachypodoiulus niger
Ommatoiulus moreletii
Megaphyllum unilineatum

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Ommatoiulus sabulosus, also known as the striped millipede, is a European millipede of the family Julidae. Its common name comes from its two striking bright longitudinal bands on the dorsal surface.

O. sabulosus is widespread and common in Central Europe and on the British Isles. It has a broad habitat range, including open areas such as meadows, fields, and roadside edges as well as sandy soils and the leaf-litter of forests of pine, oak, and beech trees. O. sabulosus occurs at elevations ranging from sea level up to 2800 metres.

O. sabulousus occasionally occurs in large numbers and mass migrations, during which they may invade homes and in such cases are considered pests.


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Parastemmiulus is an extinct genus of millipede in the family Stemmiulidae known from a fossil found in Mexico. There is one described species in the genus, Parastemmiulus elektron. The species is one of three millipedes described from Mexican amber, and the oldest Stemmiulidae fossil species as of 2013.

History and classification

Parastemmiulus elektron was described from a solitary fossil, which is preserved as an inclusion in a transparent chunk of Mexican amber. At the time of description, the amber specimen was housed in the fossil collection of the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Simojovel. The holotype fossil is composed of a very complete adult female recovered from the La Guadalupe Quarry. Mexican amber is recovered from fossil bearing rocks in the Simojovel region of Chiapas, Mexico. The amber dates from between 23 million years old at the oldest and 15 million years at the youngest. The La Guadalupe Quarry site is an outcrop of amber bearing strata belonging to the Mazantic shale. The deposits preserve a transitional river or stream environments near the coast and preserves fossils of a mangrove forest ecosystem.

The holotype was first studied by a team of researchers headed by Francisco Riquelme of the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos with their 2013 type description of the genus and species being published in the natural sciences journal Historical Biology. The genus name is a combination of the genus Stemmiulus and "para" meaning along side, a reference to the similarities between the two genera. The specific epithet elektron was is based from the Greek word meaning amber.

P. elektron is one of three millipede species described from Mexican amber, the others being Anbarrhacus adamantis and Maatidesmus paachtun, while a number of other species have been described from the similarly aged Dominican amber. One possible Stemmulid fossil was described from Dominican amber, however it was not complete, and has been regarded as doubtful. P. elektron is the first Stemmulid genus described from a fossil.

Description

The P. elektron female is reddish-brown in overall coloration with the legs a brownish tone that trends to hyaline. The body is composed of forty six segments and has a length of approximately 21 mm (0.83 in) . The ocellar field is shallow and triangular in shape with three ocelli, and is positioned just to the rear of the antennae. Two grooved possible sensory canals are present in the field, one connecting the rear and front ocelli, the other connecting the middle ocelli to the antenna socket. Present is a defined, pear-shaped Tömösváry organ located below the antenna socket and reaching the ocellar field. The antennae have a total of eight antennomeres that vary in length. The largest segment is antennomere 2, while the smallest is antennomere 7. The low ocelli numbers, differences in ocelli sizes, and varied antennomere lengths is a combination of characters only found in Stemmiulida. However, in contrast to P. elektron living species of the family do not have a Tömösváry organ.


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