Natural History Story - Millipedes

Millipedes have an interesting evolutionary tale behind them as their ancestors, the Arthopleura, grew up to lengths as large as 8 feet long. This extreme size in comparison to today's Milipedes is caused by the increased levels of oxygen during the Upper Carboniferous period. As such, they are the largest known living invertebrates to exist in that time period. Millipedes of today are mostly detrivores that feed on decaying plant matter, although some can also be carnivorous. They can be equipped with forty legs or all the way up to a thousand. Interestingly enough, there are over 12,000 known species of Millipedes and another undocumented 80,000 that may exist in the world.

Posted on March 21, 2014 04:56 AM by rwilliams