Dalodesmidae is a

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

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 in the order

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

, containing at least 250

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

found in the Southern Hemisphere.

Distribution

Species of Dalodesmidae are found in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

(over 100 species),

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, and southern South America (

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

and southern

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Classification

Dalodesmidae is one of the major families of the order Polydesmida, with at least 55 genera and 250 speciesWilliam Shear. (2011). Class Diplopoda de Blainville in Gervais, 1844. In: Zhang, Z.-Q. (Ed.) Animal biodiversity: An outline of higher-level classification and survey of taxonomic richness.—

Zootaxa ''Zootaxa'' is a peer-reviewed scientific mega journal for animal taxonomists. It is published by Magnolia Press (Auckland, New Zealand). The journal was established by Zhi-Qiang Zhang in 2001 and new issues are published multiple times a week. ...

3148:149—164. (with some estimates up to 340 species). It is related to the small family

Vaalogonopodidae Vaalogonopodidae is a family of millipedes belonging to the order Polydesmida. Genera: * ''Phygoxerotes'' Verhoeff, 1939 * ''Vaalogonopus'' Verhoeff, 1940 References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6448281 Polydesmida ...

(8 species) with which it forms the suborder Dalodesmidea. The taxonomy is based mainly on the structure of the male gonopods. Below is the list of species as of January 2014.

References

External links

Dalodesmidae of Australia
Polydesmida Millipede families {{Myriapoda-stub