Pill Millipede (Superorder: Oniscomorpha) - Wiki
Pill millipede
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[Photo] A comparison of a pill millipede (Glomeris marginata) and a pillbug (Armadillidium vulgare). Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Armidillidium.vs.glomeris.jpg | Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License". |
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Myriapoda
Class: Diplopoda
Superorder: Oniscomorpha (Pocock, 1887)
Orders: Glomerida, Sphaerotheriida
Synonyms: Armadillomorpha Verhoeff, 1915
Pill millipedes make up two orders of millipedes, often grouped together into a single superorder, Oniscomorpha. The name Oniscomorpha refers to the resemblance of pill millipedes to certain woodlice, namely the pillbugs of the family Armadillidiidae.
They are short compared to other millipedes, with only eleven to thirteen body segments, and are capable of rolling into a ball when disturbed. This ability may however have evolved separately in each of the two orders, making it a case of parallel evolution, rather than homology. Pill millipedes are herbivorous, feeding on decomposing plant matter, usually in woodlands.
Orders
The Order Glomerida is found in the Northern Hemisphere and includes species such as Glomeris marginata, the common European pill millipede. The order contains members in Europe, South-east Asia and the Americas from California to Guatemala. Three species are present in the British Isles.
The Order Sphaerotheriida is a Gondwana-distribution taxon, with around 100 species in southern Africa, Madagascar, Australasia and south-east Asia. Five species, all in the genus Procyliosoma are present in New Zealand, and around thirty species in three or more genera are present in Australia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pill_millipede
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