Glomeris marginata

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Glomeris marginata
Glomeris marginata 1.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Myriapoda
Class: Diplopoda
Order: Glomerida
Family: Glomeridae
Genus: Glomeris
Species:
G. marginata
Binomial name
Glomeris marginata
(Villers, 1789)
Synonyms

Oniscus marginataVillers, 1789  [1]

Glomeris marginata is a common European species of pill millipede. It is a short millipede, rounded in cross-section, which is capable of rolling itself up into a ball ("volvation") when disturbed. This behaviour is also found in the pill woodlouse Armadillidium , with which G. marginata is often confused. [2]

Contents

Distribution

Glomeris marginata is found throughout central and north-western Europe, from Poland and Scandinavia to Spain and Italy. [3] In the British Isles, it is found in all areas south of the Central Belt of Scotland. [4]

Description

The underside of G. marginata - note the two pairs of legs per body segment Glomeris cf marginata fg02.JPG
The underside of G. marginata – note the two pairs of legs per body segment

Glomeris marginata grows up to 20 millimetres (0.8 in) long and 8 mm (0.3 in) wide, and is covered by twelve black dorsal plates with white rims. [5] [6] Each segment except those at the front and back bears two pairs of legs, with around 18 pairs in total. [5] This distinguishes pill millipedes from pill woodlice, both of which are called "pillbugs" — woodlice have 7 pairs of walking legs, one per body segment, while millipedes have more pairs, and with two pairs to each apparent body segment.

When rolled into a ball, G. marginata can be distinguished from a rolled–up pill woodlouse by the asymmetrical ball it rolls into; pill woodlice roll into much more perfect spheres. [7] The cuticle is also darker and shinier, and the antennae are shorter. [8] The head and tail of a woodlouse have a greater number of small plates, while the head of Glomeris is protected by a single large shield, and it lacks the uropods of woodlice at the read end. [5] Although usually black, red, yellow and brown individuals do occasionally occur. [2]

Ecology

G. marginata just beginning to unroll from its defensive posture Glomeris marginata 2.jpg
G. marginata just beginning to unroll from its defensive posture

Glomeris marginata lives in leaf litter as well as in grass and under stones, with a preference for calcareous soils. [2] In domestic gardens, they are most frequent along hedgerows and at the bases of old walls, where the mortar has started to crumble, leaching lime into the soil. [5] [8] It is less prone to desiccation than other millipedes and can be found in the open, even in sunny weather, [6] although they are more active at night and prefer more humid areas. [2] G. marginata feeds on old, rotting leaves, despite the higher nutrient content of freshly–fallen leaves, and G. marginata can be responsible for recycling a significant proportion of the nutrients in the leaf litter. [9]

Predators of Glomeris marginata are reported to include the starling, the common toad, the woodlouse spider, [8] and hedgehogs. [6] As well as rolling up into a ball for protection, G. marginata produces noxious chemicals to ward off potential predators, as many millipedes do. One to eight drops of a viscid fluid are secreted, containing the quinazolinone alkaloids glomerin and homoglomerin, dissolved in a watery protein matrix. [10] These chemicals act as antifeedants and toxins to spiders, insects and vertebrates, and the fluid is sticky enough to entrap the legs of ants. [10] Having completely discharged these chemical defences, it can take up to four months for the millipede to replenish their supplies. [10]

Reproduction and life cycle

Breeding takes place cyclically in spring and summer. Male G. marginata are capable of producing a pheromone which attracts females, although this is only believed to be effective over short distances. [11] They then transfer sperm to the female using their gonopods, specially modified legs. After fertilisation, the females lay 70–80 eggs, each about 1 mm long, and each wrapped singly in a capsule of digested earth. [2] The eggs hatch after a period of about two months, with the duration depending on factors including temperature. [6] Development lasts for up to three years, and involves nine moults, following which moults occur periodically as adults. [2] Females are fertile for several years, and can produce six broods over their lifetime, [6] which can be up to eleven years. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Millipede</span> Class of arthropods

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 result of two single segments fused together. Most millipedes have very elongated cylindrical or flattened bodies with more than 20 segments, while pill millipedes are shorter and can roll into a tight ball. Although the name "millipede" derives from Latin for "thousand feet", no species was known to have 1,000 or more until the discovery in 2020 of Eumillipes persephone, which can have over 1,300 legs. There are approximately 12,000 named species classified into 16 orders and around 140 families, making Diplopoda the largest class of myriapods, an arthropod group which also includes centipedes and other multi-legged creatures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Myriapoda</span> Subphylum of arthropods

Myriapods are the members of subphylum Myriapoda, containing arthropods such as millipedes and centipedes. The group contains about 13,000 species, all of them terrestrial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isopoda</span> Order of arthropods

Isopoda is an order of crustaceans. Members of this group are called Isopods and include both terrestrial and aquatic species such as woodlice. All have rigid, segmented exoskeletons, two pairs of antennae, seven pairs of jointed limbs on the thorax, and five pairs of branching appendages on the abdomen that are used in respiration. Females brood their young in a pouch under their thorax.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armadillidiidae</span> Family of woodlice, a terrestrial crustacean group in the order Isopoda

Armadillidiidae is a family of woodlice, a terrestrial crustacean group in the order Isopoda. Unlike members of some other woodlice families, members of this family can roll into a ball, an ability they share with the outwardly similar but unrelated pill millipedes and other animals. This ability gives woodlice in this family their common names of pill bugs or roly polies. Other common names include slaters, potato bugs, butchy boys, and doodle bugs. Most species are native to the Mediterranean Basin, while a few species have wider European distributions. The best-known species, Armadillidium vulgare, was introduced to New England in the early 19th century and has become widespread throughout North America.

<i>Armadillidium vulgare</i> Species of woodlouse

Armadillidium vulgare, the common pill-bug, potato bug, common pill woodlouse, roly-poly, slater, doodle bug, or carpenter, is a widespread European species of woodlouse. It is the most extensively investigated terrestrial isopod species. It is native to Mediterranean Europe, but as an introduced species they have become naturalized in almost all suitable ecosystems. They are kept as pets by hobbyists for their wide range of possible color variations.

<i>Porcellio scaber</i> Species of woodlouse

Porcellio scaber, is a species of woodlouse native to Europe but with a cosmopolitan distribution. They are often found in large numbers in most regions, with many species preying on them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodlouse spider</span> Species of spider

The woodlouse spider is a species of spider that preys primarily upon woodlice. Other common names refer to variations on the common name of its prey, including woodlouse hunter, sowbug hunter, sowbug killer, pillbug hunter and slater spider.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pill millipede</span> Order of millipedes

Pill millipedes are any members of two living orders of millipedes, often grouped together into a single superorder, Oniscomorpha. The name Oniscomorpha refers to the millipedes' resemblance to certain woodlice (Oniscidea), also called pillbugs or "roly-polies". However, millipedes and woodlice are not closely related ; rather, this is a case of convergent evolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glomerida</span> Order of millipedes

Glomerida is an order of pill-millipedes found primarily in the Northern Hemisphere. Also known as northern pill millipedes, they superficially resemble pill-bugs or woodlice, and can enroll into a protective ball. They have twelve body segments, 17 to 19 pairs of legs, and males have enlarged rear legs involved in mating. The order includes about 30 genera and at least 280 species, including Glomeris marginata, the common European pill-millipede. The order contains members in Europe, South-east Asia and the Americas from California to Guatemala. Although historically considered closely related with the similar sphaerotheriidans that also enroll, some DNA evidence suggest they may be more closely related to glomeridesmidans, a poorly known order that does not enroll.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodlouse</span> Crustacean from the polyphyletic suborder Oniscidea

A woodlouse is any crustacean belonging to the suborder Oniscidea within the order Isopoda. They get their name from often being found in old wood, and from louse, a parasitic insect, although woodlice are neither parasitic nor insects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sphaerotheriida</span> Order of millipedes

Sphaerotheriida is an order of millipedes in the infraclass Pentazonia, sometimes known as giant pill millipedes. They inhabit Southern Africa, Madagascar, South and Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Like the Northern Hemisphere pill millipedes of the order Glomerida, these millipedes can roll into a ball when disturbed. When they are rolled-up, most sphaerotheriidans reach a maximum size of a cherry or golf ball, but some species from Madagascar can even reach the size of an orange. When rolled-up, predators are unable to unravel giant pill millipedes since the margins of their second and last dorsal plates fit perfectly into one another, creating a sealed ball. A few giant pill millipede species are able to produce sound, the only millipedes known to do this. This order of millipedes is also unique in that some African species are used for medicinal purposes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glomeridesmida</span> Order of millipedes

Glomeridesmida is an order of millipedes in the infraclass Pentazonia containing two families and at least 35 described species. Glomeridesmida is the only living order of the superorder Limacomorpha. Glomeridesmidans are also known as slug millipedes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenhouse millipede</span> Species of millipede

The greenhouse millipede, also known as the hothouse millipede, short-flange millipede, or garden millipede, is a species of millipede in the family Paradoxosomatidae that has been widely introduced around the world, and is sometimes a pest in greenhouses.

<i>Glomeris connexa</i> Species of millipede

Glomeris connexa is a species of pill millipede within the genus Glomeris and family Glomeridae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volvation</span> Defensive reaction

Volvation, is a defensive behavior in certain animals, in which the animal rolls its own body into a ball, presenting only the hardest parts of its integument, or its spines to predators.

<i>Trachysphaera lobata</i> Species of millipede

Trachysphaera lobata, also known as the sand pill millipede, is a species of pill millipede within the genus Trachysphaera and family Glomeridae.

<i>Glomeris sublimbata</i> Species of pill millipede

Glomeris sublimbata, also known as the marbled pill millipede, is a species of pill millipede belonging to the genus Glomeris and the family Glomeridae.

Armadillidium maculatum, also known as the zebra isopod or zebra pillbug is an Armadillidium species of woodlouse, named for its black and white patterns. It is native to southern France.

<i>Glomeris ligurica</i> Species of millipede.

Glomeris ligurica is a species of pill millipede within the genus Glomeris and family Glomeridae.

References

  1. ↑ "Oniscus marginata Villers, 1789". Universität Ulm. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved June 21, 2007.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Pill millipede (Glomeris marginata)". ARKive. Archived from the original on 2009-11-25. Retrieved June 21, 2007.
  3. ↑ "Glomeris marginata". EUNIS biodiversity database. European Environment Agency . Retrieved June 21, 2007.[ permanent dead link ]
  4. ↑ "Grid map of records on the Gateway for Pill Millipede (Glomeris marginata)". National Biodiversity Network . Retrieved June 21, 2007.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Stuart M. Bennett (2000). "Glomeris marginata (the pill millipede)" . Retrieved June 21, 2007.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "Pill millipede". Animal Encyclopedia . Retrieved June 21, 2007.[ better source needed ]
  7. ↑ "Details for Glomeris marginata (Villers, 1789)". National Biodiversity Network's Species Dictionary. Natural History Museum. Archived from the original on May 20, 2009. Retrieved June 21, 2007.
  8. 1 2 3 "Pill millipede — Glomeris marginata". English Nature. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved June 21, 2007.
  9. ↑ J.–F. David & D. Gillon (2002). "Annual feeding rate of the millipede Glomeris marginata on holm oak (Quercus ilex) leaf litter under Mediterranean conditions". Pedobiologia . 46 (1): 42–52. Bibcode:2002Pedob..46...42D. doi:10.1078/0031-4056-00112.
  10. 1 2 3 James E. Carrell (1984). "Defensive secretion of the pill millipede Glomeris marginata". Journal of Chemical Ecology . 10 (1): 41–51. Bibcode:1984JCEco..10...41C. doi:10.1007/BF00987642. PMID   24318227. S2CID   23385386.
  11. ↑ Juberthie-Jupeau, Lysiane (1976). "Fine structure of postgonopodial glands of a myriapod Glomeris marginata (Villers)". Tissue and Cell. 8 (2): 293–304. doi:10.1016/0040-8166(76)90053-7. PMID   941136.
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