Sphaeromimus
| Sphaeromimus | |
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| File:S.musicus (2).JPG | |
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| Order: | Brandt, 1833
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| Genus: | Sphaeromimus de Saussure and Zehnter, 1902
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| Species | |
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Sphaeromimus is a genus of giant pill millipedes (order Sphaerotheriida) endemic to southeastern Madagascar.[1] The genus was first described by Henry de Saussure and Leo Zehntner in 1902.[2], but until 2005 was only know from a single male, whose appearance was so unusual that the authors thought it might represent a mislabeled giant pill-millipede from India.[3] It belongs to the family Arthrosphaeridae which, besides Sphaeromimus includes the Malagasy genera, Zoosphaerium and Microsphaerotherium and the Indian genus Arthrosphaera.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). When a female is receptive, it is believed that males use their posterior telopods in order to hold her down for copulation. Females, on the other hand, have a structure on their subanal plate called the washboard which, similar to the male harp, contains stridulation ribs and produces sounds. The harp and washboard are present in all species of the family Arthrosphaeridae, but are especially well developed in Sphaeromimus, with males have 3–7 ribs on each harp, and females 8–16 ribs on each washboard.[1]
References
- ^ a b T. Wesener & P. Sierwald (2005). "The Giant Pill Millipedes of Madagascar Revision of the Genus Sphaeromimus with a review of the morphological terminology (Diplopoda, Sphaerotheriida, Sphaerotheriidae)" (PDF). Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences. 56: 557–599.
- ^ H. DeSaussure and L. Zehnter (1902). "Myriapodes de Madagascar". In Grandidier, Histoire, physique, naturelle, et politique de Madagascar . 27: i–vii, 1–356, pl. 13, 14, 15.
- ^ C. A. W Jeekel (1999). "A new pill-millipede from Madagascar, with a catalogue of the species hitherto described from the island (Diplopoda- Sphaerotheriida)". Myriapod Memoranda . I: 5–21.