''Orthomorpha coarctata'', the long-flange millipede, is a widely introduced species of

Polydesmida Polydesmida (from the Greek ''poly'' "many" and ''desmos'' "bond") is the largest order of millipedes, containing approximately 3,500 species, including all the millipedes reported to produce hydrogen cyanide (HCN). Description Members of the o ...

millipede Millipedes are a group of arthropods that are characterised by having two pairs of jointed legs on most body segments; they are known scientifically as the class Diplopoda, the name derived from this feature. Each double-legged segment is a resu ...

of the family

Paradoxosomatidae Paradoxosomatidae, the only family in the suborder Paradoxosomatidea (also known as Strongylosomatidea), is a family of flat-backed millipedes in the order Polydesmida. Containing nearly 200 genera and 975 species , it is one of the largest fami ...

. It is presumed native to Southeast Asia but due to transport by humans occurs in tropical and sub-tropical areas throughout the world, including the Hawaiian Islands, the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coast, coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The list of U.S. states and territories by coastline, coastal states that have a shor ...

of North America, and the

Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands (Spanish: , , ) are an archipelago of volcanic islands. They are distributed on each side of the equator in the Pacific Ocean, surrounding the centre of the Western Hemisphere, and are part of the Republic of Ecuador ...

Description

Males range from 14.5–20.5 mm in length and 1.5 to 2.7 mm wide while females are somewhat larger ranging from 16.5–27.5 mm long, and 1.6–3.2 mm wide. ''O. coarctata'' can be distinguished from '' Oxidus gracilis'', another widely introduced Asian millipede, by having proportionally longer and pointier paranota (lateral keels) on mid-body segments and longer

gonopod Gonopods are specialized appendages of various arthropods used in reproduction or egg-laying. In males, they facilitate the transfer of sperm from male to female during mating, and thus are a type of intromittent organ. In crustaceans and millipe ...

s (male reproductive appendages). ''O. coarctata'' is unique within the genus ''

Orthomorpha ''Orthomorpha'' is a genus of millipedes in the family Paradoxosomatidae containing approximately 50 species distributed in Southeast Asia. Description Species of ''Orthomorpha'' possess 20 body segments and range from 15–50 mm long as ...

'' in that the gonopods have a single, simple tip, while other species have two or three lobes. This distinction has led some authors to place ''O. coarctata'' in a separate,

monotypic genus In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

, ''Asiomorpha''.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from1=Q59979772, from2=Q6441770 Polydesmida Animals described in 1860 Millipedes of North America Millipedes of Asia