Class: Diplopoda (millipedes)

Life > Eukaryotes > Opisthokonta > Metazoa (animals) > Bilateria > Ecdysozoa > Panarthropoda > Tritocerebra > Arthropoda > Myriapoda > Progoneata > Dignatha

Millipede. [photo Hamish Robertson ©]

Flat-backed millipede (Polydesmida). [photo Hamish Robertson ©]

Millipede. [photo Hamish Robertson ©]

Millipede eating leaf material. Note mite on the left-hand side. [photo Hamish Robertson ©]

Millipedes are usually herbivorous or detritivores and have two pairs of legs per body segment whereas centipedes have one pair per segment. A total of 491 species of millipede have been recorded from South Africa according to the South African Animal Checklist (SANBI). See Wikipedia for an introduction to millipedes.