Sphaerotheriida is an order of millipedes[1] in the infraclass Pentazonia,[2] sometimes known as giant pill millipedes.[3] They inhabit Southern Africa, Madagascar, South and Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand.[4] 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 [5] or golf ball,[6] but some species from Madagascar can even reach the size of an orange[7] (an example of island gigantism; illustration - [1]). 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.[8] This order of millipedes is also unique in that some African species are used for medicinal purposes.[9]
^R. L. Hoffman (1980). "Contributions à l'étude de la faune terrestre des îles granitiques de l'archipel des Séchelles". Revue Zoologique africaine. 94 (1): 138–168.
^William A. Shear & Gregory D. Edgecombe (2010). "The geological record and phylogeny of the Myriapoda". Arthropod Structure & Development. 39 (2–3): 174–190. doi:10.1016/j.asd.2009.11.002. PMID 19944188.
^Thomas Wesener & Didier van den Spiegel (2009). "A first phylogenetic analysis of giant pill millipedes (Diplopoda: Sphaerotheriida), a new model Gondwanan taxon, with special emphasis on island gigantism". Cladistics. 25 (6): 545–573. doi:10.1111/j.1096-0031.2009.00267.x. PMID 34879594. S2CID 86041765.
^Beverley A. Holloway (1956). "Revision of the New Zealand pill millipedes (Oniscomorpha, Sphaerotheridae)" (PDF). Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 84 (2): 431–446.
^D. van den Spiegel, S. I. Golovatch & M. Hamer (2003). "Revision of some of the oldest species in the millipede genus Sphaerotherium, Brandt, 1833 (Diplopoda, Sphaerotheriida, Sphaerotheriidae), with new synonymies". African Invertebrates. 43: 143–181. Archived from the original on 2011-10-04.
^Thomas Wesener & Johann-Wolfgang Wägele (2008). "The giant pill millipedes of Madagascar: revision of the genus Zoosphaerium (Myriapoda, Diplopoda, Sphaerotheriida)" (PDF). Zoosystema. 30 (1): 5–85. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-12.
^U. Haacker (1968). "Das Sexualverhalten von Sphaerotherium dorsale (Myriapoda, Diplopoda)". Verhandlungen der Deutschen Zoologischen Gesellschaft. 3: 454–463.
^D. G. Herbert, M. L. Hamer, M. Mander, N. Mkhize & F. Prins (2003). "Invertebrate animals as a component of the traditional medicine trade in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa". African Invertebrates. 44 (2): 327–344. Archived from the original on 2011-09-03.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Sphaerotheriida is an order of millipedes in the infraclass Pentazonia, sometimes known as giant pill millipedes. They inhabit Southern Africa, Madagascar...
contains toxic alkaloids and has a sedative effect to repel predators. Sphaerotheriida don't even have such ability, they completely rely on their hard shell...
endemic giant pill-millipedes Arthrosphaera (Pocock 1895) (Diplopoda: Sphaerotheriida) of the Western Ghats of India". Caryologia. 67 (1): 49–56. doi:10...
of the year. Z. neptunus is the only known species within the order Sphaerotheriida that is known to exhibit this mass swarming behaviour. Zoosphaerium...
Cyliosomatidae is a family of giant millipedes in the order Sphaerotheriida, found in Australia. First described in 1974 by C. A. W. Jeekel. Two genera...
Marine worm Sheltopusik, a glass lizard with worm-like appearance Sphaerotheriida, the giant pill millipede This disambiguation page lists articles associated...
"Zephronidae") is a family of giant pill millipedes in the taxonomic order Sphaerotheriida. They occur in southeast Asia from the Himalayas and China south and...
anjozorobe Wesener, Thomas (2016). "The Giant Pill-Millipedes, order Sphaerotheriida – An annotated species catalogue with morphological atlas and list...
Sri Lanka is a tropical island situated close to the southern tip of India. The invertebrate fauna is as large as it is common to other regions of the...
of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 84 (2): 431–446. Bob Mesibov. "Sphaerotheriida: Procyliosoma". Millipedes of Australia. Retrieved 9 March 2011. Wesener...
oval-shaped millipedes reaching up to 20 mm (0.79 in) long. Like the Sphaerotheriida (so-called Giant Pill-millipedes), they are capable of enrolling into...
Casimir Albrecht Willem (2001) A bibliographic catalogue of the Asiatic Sphaerotheriida (Diplopoda), Myriapod memoranda, 3: 5-38: 5-38. Jeekel, Casimir Albrecht...
Species of Endemic Giant Pill-Millipedes from Madagascar (Diplopoda: Sphaerotheriida: Arthrosphaeridae: Zoosphaerium)". BioOne. Retrieved 2022-10-26. Bhat...
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