Chordeumatidae is a family of

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 ...

s belonging to the order

Chordeumatida Chordeumatida (from the Greek word for "sausage") is a large order of millipedes containing some 1200 species with a nearly worldwide distribution. Also known as "sausage millipedes," they possess around 30 body segments behind the head (includi ...

. These millipedes range from 7 mm to 18 mm in length and are found in Europe. Adult millipedes in this family have either 28 (e.g., ''Melagona scutellaris)'' or 30 (e.g., ''M. gallica'', ''Chordeuma proximum'', and ''C. sylvestre'') segments (counting the collum, the

telson The telson () is the posterior-most division of the body of an arthropod. Depending on the definition, the telson is either considered to be the final segment of the arthropod body, or an additional division that is not a true segment on accou ...

, and the segments in between). This family features distinctive sex-linked modifications to the legs in adults: In the adult female, a legless sternite (the "platosternite") replaces the third pair of legs, and in the adult male, five pairs of legs (pairs 7 through 11) are modified in the gonopod complex. These modifications are more extensive than those found in other adult males in this order, which often have only two leg pairs (pairs 8 and 9) modified into gonopods. With the more extensive modifications to the legs in this family, species with the usual 30 segments feature adult females with only 49 leg pairs and adult males with only 45 pairs of walking legs, and species with only 28 segments (e.g., ''M. scutellaris'') feature adult females with only 45 leg pairs and adult males with only 41 pairs of walking legs. Genera: * '' Chordeuma'' Koch, 1847 * '' Chordeumella'' Verhoeff, 1897 * '' Ikseuma'' * '' Laeviulus'' Berlese, 1884 * '' Lophomus'' Loomis & Schmitt, 1971 * '' Melogona'' Cook, 1895 * '' Microchordeuma'' Verhoeff, 1896 * '' Mycogona'' Cook, 1895 * '' Orthochordeuma'' * '' Orthochordeumella'' Verhoeff, 1900 * '' Parachordeuma'' Ribaut, 1912

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4288327 Chordeumatida Millipede families