Archispirostreptus gigas
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Archispirostreptus gigas |
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| ( Peters , 1855) |
Archispirostreptus gigas (also known as giant pinnipeds ) is a millipede fromthe Spirostreptidae family .
features
The species reaches a body length of 178 to 260 millimeters with a body diameter of 15 to 19 millimeters. These dimensions relate to animals from the natural habitat, with bred animals sometimes even larger specimens, up to 320 millimeters in length, are given. The trunk usually consists of 62 to 70 (minimum 54, maximum 71) rings, each with two pairs of legs, as is typical for the relatives group. The body, including the legs and antennae, is brown to black in color (lighter colored animals with reddish-brown coloring components belong to other species). The head shield (collum) is rounded when viewed from the side without an anterior lobe, it has two to three complete and one incomplete stripes (striae).
The species is different from other species of the genus that are very similar in body shape , in particular A. phillipsii , A. lugubris , A. syriacus , A. tumuliporus , A. smithii and A. dodsoni , in the shape of the gonopods of the male, especially the Shape of the anterior metaplical process, distinguishable. Males are slightly smaller than the females and generally darker in color.
Animals of the genus kept in terrariums are very often incorrectly assigned to this species, so that much of the information about the characteristics, especially in blogs or forum posts by breeders, is incorrect. The examination of the male reproductive organs, especially the gonopods , is essential to reliably identify the species .
distribution
Archispirostreptus gigas occurs in East Africa. There are finds from Kenya, Tanzania, Somalia and the island of Zanzibar , as well as uncertain species from the Republic of South Africa and Mozambique.
Biology and way of life
The species lives in tropical rainforests and in coastal dry forests , sometimes in open, savanna-like habitats, provided that a certain proportion of trees is still present. It rarely occurs above 1000 meters above sea level. It lives on the ground and is nocturnal, buried in the ground or in hiding places during the day.
They feed on soft, dead plant matter such as fallen leaves, in the terrarium they are often fed on fruits. Seedlings of plants or animal carrion are rarely eaten. Commensals living in the intestine , which belong to the methanogenic archaea , partly as endosymbionts in intestinal protozoa, help with digestion. These give off methane as a metabolic product.
The mating of the species occurs in autumn and spring, it takes about 35 minutes. The eggs are placed in self-dug burrows in the ground, with each egg individually encapsulated in a shell. The approximately 2.5 millimeters large, yellowish eggs develop within one to two months. The development of the sexually mature animal takes about two years.
In the South African savannahs, population densities of animals of the order Spirostreptida with a similar body structure and way of life of one to 35 individuals per square meter were given, but the large species such as Archispirostreptus gigas only reach about 0.015 individuals per square meter. In semi-arid areas, the animals are only active in the rainy season. When kept in the terrarium, they do not need open water, but get along with the moisture from their food. The species reaches an age of five to seven, possibly up to ten years in the terrarium.
The animals defend themselves against predators, mostly small vertebrates, by the secretion of their defensive glands, which sit in pairs on most body segments. The defense secretion belongs to the 1,4-benzoquinones .
Keeping in the terrarium
Archispirostreptus gigas is considered an adaptable and robust animal that survives in arid and humid climates. The millipede is sold as a pet for keeping in terrariums.
Taxonomy
The species was first described as Spirostreptus gigas in 1855 by the naturalist and explorer Wilhelm Peters . It is a type of the genus Archispirostreptus Silvestri 1895. After the revision by Tarombera Mwabvu and colleagues, the genus still includes ten species, the South African species have been separated into a new genus Cacuminostreptus . The authors classify their monophyly as unsafe.
Literature and Sources
- T. Mwabvu, M. Hamer, R. Slotow & D. Barraclough (2010): A revision of the taxonomy and distribution of Archispirostreptus Silvestri 1895 (Diplopoda, Spirostreptida, Spirostreptidae), and description of a new spirostreptid genus with three new species. Zootaxa 2567: 1-49.
- Vladimír Šustr, Karel Tajovský, Stanislava Semanová, Alica Chroňáková, Miloslav Šimek (2013): The giant African millipede, Archispirostreptus gigas (Diplopoda: Spirostreptida), a model species for ecophysiological studies. Acta Societatis Zoologicae Bohemicae 77: 145-158.
Web links
- Archispirostreptus gigas at diplopoda.de
- archispirostreptus.com (engl.)