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'Pill millipedes' make up two orders of millipedes, often grouped together into a single superorder, 'Oniscomorpha'. The name Oniscomorpha refers to the resemblance of pill millipedes to certain woodlice, namely the pillbugs of the family Armadillidiidae. They are short compared to other millipedes, with only eleven to thirteen body segments ^[1], and are capable of rolling into a ball when disturbed. This ability may however have evolved separately in each of the two orders, making it a case of parallel evolution, rather than homology ^[2]. Pill millipedes are herbivorous, feeding on decomposing plant matter, usually in woodlands ^[3].

Contents

Orders

References

Orders

The Order 'Glomerida' is found in the Northern Hemisphere and includes species such as ''Glomeris marginata'', the common European pill millipede. The order contains members in Europe, South-east Asia and the Americas from California to Guatemala ^[4]. Three species are present in the British Isles ^[5].
The Order 'Sphaerotheriida' is a Gondwana-distribution taxon, with around 100 species in southern Africa, Madagascar, Australasia ^[6] and south-east Asia . Five species, all in the genus ''Procyliosoma'' are present in New Zealand , and around thirty species in three or more genera are present in Australia ^[7].

References

1. A new species of the diplopod ''Anymilyspes'' (Oniscomorpha) from the Stephania lagerstätte of Montceau-les-Mines, France, P. R. Racheboeuf, J. T. Hannibal & J. Vannier, , , Journal of Paleontology, 2004
2. Defining Features of Nominal Clades of Diplopoda
3. Pill millipedes fact file
4. Biogeography of millipede families
5. Checklist of species of millipedes in Britain and Ireland Paul Lee
6. Diplopoda M. A. Minor & A.W. Robertson
7. Checklist for Sphaerotheriida Brandt, 1833