Pauropodidae

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Pauropodidae
Pauropodidae sp. (Pauropoda).jpg
An unidentified species under a microscope
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Myriapoda
Class: Pauropoda
Order: Tetramerocerata
Family: Pauropodidae
Lubbock, 1867

Pauropodidae is a family of pauropods in the order Tetramerocerata. This group is the most diverse family of pauropods, containing 27 genera and more than 800 species. [1] [2] These pauropods usually live in the soil on mountains and hills. [3]

Contents

Description

Pauropods in this family are generally whitish and small, less than 2 mm in length. [4] [3] These pauropods feature a ventral antennal branch with one seta and one globulus (i.e., spheroid sense organ). [1] The dorsal surface of the head features a single anterior seta and four transverse rows of setae. [4]

Pauropus amicus, ventral and dorsal views Pauropus amicus.jpg
Pauropus amicus , ventral and dorsal views

The tergites are entire rather than divided into multiple sclerites. These tergites are weakly sclerotized, allowing many species in this family to curve their soft bodies in all directions. The setae on these tergites are arranged in regular transverse rows. The setae on the head and tergites are usually tapering or cylindrical. The middle of the posterior end of the sternum of the pygidium has only one anal plate attached. [4] [1]

Like most adult pauropods in the order Tetramerocerata, [5] most adults in this family have nine pairs of legs, but adults in one genus, Cauvetauropus , have only eight pairs of legs, and female adults in another genus, Decapauropus , have nine or ten pairs of legs. [1] The first and last pairs of legs have five segments. In most genera, the remaining legs have six segments instead, but in some genera, all legs may have five segments. [4]

Distribution

This family has a subcosmopolitan distribution. [1] Species in this family are found worldwide, [3] but not in Antarctica. [4] Three genera in this family, Allopauropus , Decapauropus , and Pauropus , are especially widespread, each with a subcosmopolitan distribution. [1] [4] [3]

Fossil record

This family is notable for including the only known fossil pauropod, Eopauropus balticus . [1] [4] This pauropod was found in Baltic amber from the middle of the Eocene epoch. [4] [6] The discovery of a pauropod in amber is surprising, given that pauropods inhabit the soil, avoid the surface, and thus are rarely trapped in tree resin. [7]

Genera

This family includes 814 species distributed among 27 genera: [2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Scheller, Ulf (2008). "A reclassification of the Pauropoda (Myriapoda)" . International Journal of Myriapodology. 1 (1): 1–38. doi: 10.1163/187525408X316730 . ISSN   1875-2535.
  2. 1 2 "ITIS - Report: Pauropodidae". www.itis.gov. Retrieved 2024-02-24.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Hua Guo; Hong-Ying Sun; Chang-Yuan Qian; Hong Shen; Kai-Ya Zhou (2010). "A new genus and two new species of the subfamily Pauropodinae (Myriapoda: Pauropoda: Pauropodidae) from China". Zoological Science . 27 (11): 895–899. doi:10.2108/zsj.27.895. PMID   21039130. S2CID   42544817.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Scheller, Ulf (2011). "Pauropoda" . Treatise on Zoology - Anatomy, Taxonomy, Biology. The Myriapoda, Volume 1: 467–508. doi:10.1163/9789004188266_022.
  5. ↑ Enghoff, Henrik; Dohle, Wolfgang; Blower, J. Gordon (1993). "Anamorphosis in Millipedes (Diplopoda) — The Present State of Knowledge with Some Developmental and Phylogenetic Considerations" . Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 109 (2): 103–234. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1993.tb00305.x.
  6. ↑ David Grimaldi; Michael S. Engel (2005). Evolution of the Insects. Cambridge University Press. p. 109. ISBN   978-1-107-26877-7.
  7. ↑ Weitschat, Wolfgang; Wichard, Wilfried (2010). "Baltic amber". In Penney, David (ed.). Biodiversity of Fossils in Amber from the Major World Deposits. Siri Scientific Press. p. 91. ISBN   978-0-9558636-4-6.


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