Trigoniulus corallinus | |
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In Cuiabá | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Subphylum: | Myriapoda |
Class: | Diplopoda |
Order: | Spirobolida |
Family: | Trigoniulidae |
Genus: | Trigoniulus |
Species: | T. corallinus |
Binomial name | |
Trigoniulus corallinus (Gervais, 1842) | |
Synonyms | |
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Trigoniulus corallinus, sometimes called the rusty millipede or common Asian millipede, is a species of millipede widely distributed in the Indo-Malayan region including India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, China, Taiwan, Philippines, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Nepal, and much of Indonesia. It is also reported from Fiji, Tanzania and Zambia, and found in South Asia and the Caribbean as an introduced species. [1] [2] It has also been introduced to Florida, [1] [3] and as of 2022 is well-distributed throughout South and Central Florida, with limited sightings in the Northeast and Panhandle. [4]
T. corallinus is 2–3 in (50–75 mm) at adult size, and reddish brown in color. [3]
These millipedes inhabit moist areas, especially rotten wood, and compost during monsoon season. [1] The genome of T. corallinus was sequenced in 2015, the first time this has been done for a millipede. [5]
Trigoniulus corallinus has shown a new adaptability to differnt habitats, allowing it to succeed as both a native and introduced species. Native to the Indo-Malayan region, it has expanded its range to areas in South Asia, Africa, and the Americas. The millipede's introduction to Florida, first documented in 2006,[ dubious – discuss ] marked a significant expansion of its range with populations now well-established across South and Central Florida. This adaptation is joined together with its ability to make use of the decaying organic matter and particularly in disturbed environments like urban gardens and agricultural areas.
This species is recognized by its reddish-brown color, cylindrical body, and ability to grow up to 2–3 inches in length. Its role as a decomposer in the ecosystem is very important, as it contributes to the breakdown of plant materials and recycling nutrients back into the soil. During the monsoon season, these millipedes are most active, inhabiting compost piles, leaf litter, and rotting wood.
In addition to its ecological role, the T. corallinus has gained scientific significance for its advancements. In 2015, the complete genome of T. corallinus was prioritized, marking the first time a millipede's genome was fully decoded. This effort provided insights into the species' unique adaptations, evolutionary history, and potential biotechnological applications. Researchers have highlighted the genes linked to the millipede's exoskeleton for development and mechanisms for microbial symbiosis, highlighting on its resilience in diverse environments.
Trigoniulus corallinus is known for its nocturnal habits and slow movement. It relies on chemical defense mechanisms, releasing a mildly toxic secretion when threatened scaring off predators. Observations have shown that the species prefers damp environments making it vulnerable to habitat modifications like deforestation and urbanization.
The reproductive strategy of T. corallinus involves laying eggs in moist soil, where juveniles undergo molts before adulthood. The millipede's lifecycle and survival strategies enable it to establish populations rapidly in introduced regions, often outcompeting native decomposer species.
Leaf mold is the compost produced by decomposition of shaded deciduous shrub and tree leaves, primarily by fungal breakdown in a slower, cooler manner as opposed to the bacterial degradation of leaves.
The Indomalayan realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms. It extends across most of South and Southeast Asia and into the southern parts of East Asia.
Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature.
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The rusty-spotted cat is one of the cat family's smallest members, of which historical records are known only from India and Sri Lanka. In 2012, it was also recorded in the western Terai of Nepal. Since 2016, the global wild population is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List as it is fragmented and affected by loss and destruction of its prime habitat, deciduous forests.
The Malabar Coast moist forests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of southwestern India.
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.
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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.
The Brahmaputra Valley semi-evergreen forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of Northeastern India, southern Bhutan and adjacent Bangladesh.
The stripe-necked mongoose is a mongoose species native to forests and shrublands from southern India to Sri Lanka.
The Javan mongoose is a mongoose species native to Southeast Asia.
The rusty crayfish is a large, aggressive species of freshwater crayfish which is native to the United States, in the Ohio River Basin in parts of Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. Its range is rapidly expanding across much of eastern North America, displacing native crayfishes in the process. The rusty crayfish was first captured in Illinois in 1973, and has been collected at over 20 locations in the northern portion of the state. In 2005, F. rusticus was found for the first time west of the Continental Divide, in the John Day River, Oregon, which runs into the Columbia River.
The Asian swamp eel, also known as rice eel, ricefield eel, rice paddy eel or white rice-field eel, is a commercially important air-breathing species of fish in the family Synbranchidae. It occurs in East and Southeast Asia, where it is commonly sold and eaten throughout the region. It has been introduced to two areas near the Everglades in Florida and near Atlanta in Georgia.
Perna viridis, known as the Asian green mussel, is an economically important mussel, a bivalve belonging to the family Mytilidae, or the "true mussels". It is harvested for food but is also known to harbor toxins and cause damage to submerged structures such as drainage pipes. It is native in the Asia-Pacific region but has been introduced in the Caribbean, and in the waters around Japan, North America, and South America.
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Carpilius maculatus, common names seven-eleven crab, spotted reef crab, dark-finger coral crab, and large spotted crab, is a species of crab in the family Carpiliidae, which also includes C. convexus and C. corallinus. While there have reports of the C. maculatus as being poisonous, biochemical testing has revealed that they lack any paralytic shellfish toxins.
Poneracantha triangularis is a Neotropical species of ant in the subfamily Ectatomminae. Native to the forests of South and Central America, P. triangularis is a predatory ant that feeds on millipedes. In its native range, this species is known from Buenos Aires, Argentina in the south to Costa Rica in the north, with records from eight countries in South America, and two countries of Central America. The first records of P. triangularis outside its native range came from Florida beginning in 1985 and Alabama in 1996.
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.
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