Orthomorpha coarctata

Orthomorpha coarctata (syn. Asiomorpha coarctata), the long-flange millipede,[1] is a widely introduced species of Polydesmidan millipede of the family Paradoxosomatidae. 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, Gulf Coast of North America, and the Galápagos Islands.[1][2][3]

Orthomorpha coarctata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Diplopoda
Order: Polydesmida
Family: Paradoxosomatidae
Genus: Orthomorpha
Species:
O. coarctata
Binomial name
Orthomorpha coarctata
(De Saussure, 1860)
Synonyms

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.[4] 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 gonopods (male reproductive appendages).[5]

O. coarctata is unique within the genus Orthomorpha 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, Asiomorpha.[2][4]

  • Anatomy of an individual collected in Thailand
  • Anatomy of male (A-I) and female (J-L)
  • Gonopods

References
  1. McCormack, Gerald (2007). "Asiomorpha coarctata, Long-flange Millipede". Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  2. Hoffman, R. L. (1999). "Checklist of the millipeds of North and Middle America". Virginia Museum of Natural History Special Publications. 8: 1–553. p. 415
  3. Peck, S. B. (1998). "Introduced insect fauna of an oceanic archipelago: The Galápagos Islands, Ecuador" (PDF). American Entomologist. 44 (4): 218–237. doi:10.1093/ae/44.4.218. p. 220
  4. Likhitrakarn, Natdanai; Golovatch, Sergei; Panha, Somsak (2011). "Revision of the Southeast Asian millipede genus Orthomorpha Bollman, 1893, with the proposal of a new genus (Diplopoda, Polydesmida, Paradoxosomatidae)". ZooKeys (131): 1–161. doi:10.3897/zookeys.131.1921. PMC 3208436. PMID 22140329.
  5. McCormack, Gerald (2007). "Oxidus gracilis, Short-flange Millipede". Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
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