Juice ball

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Juice ball
The Gerandete Saftkugler is one of the common species in Central Europe

The Gerandete Saftkugler is one of the common species in Central Europe

Systematics
Trunk : Arthropod (arthropoda)
Sub-stem : Trachea (Tracheata)
Superclass : Millipede (Myriapoda)
Class : Double-pod (Diplopoda)
Superordinate : Pentazonia
Order : Juice ball
Scientific name
Glomerida
Leach , 1814

The Saftkugler (Glomerida) form an order within the group of the millipedes . A characteristic feature of the Saftkugler is the ability to curl up into an almost spherical shape in the event of danger. They have this property in common with the closely related order of the Riesenkugler . They differ from these not only in their size and range, but also in the number of segments. As adult animals, the Saftkugler have 12 trunk segments that are easily recognizable from the outside by the number of back shields .

features

The Saftkugler belong to the double-footed group and have two pairs of legs from the fifth trunk segment onwards. There are also three individual pairs of legs from the second to the fourth segment. Thus, both sexes have 17 pairs of legs. The males also have pincer-shaped 18th and 19th limbs used as auxiliary tools during mating.

The first of the 12 back shields, the pronotum, is significantly smaller than the others, the second, the breast shield, significantly larger. The back shields are black to brown in color, usually with light-colored edges or markings that can be used to differentiate between species and subspecies. In some species, however, these drawings are very variable, sometimes there are also differences between the juvenile dress and the drawing of the adult animals.

Due to their short, high-arched body and the ability to curl up in danger, the juice balls are often confused with the roll lobsters , which, however, are crustaceans . The juice balls differ from the roll lobsters by the largely uniform segments and the ability to hide the head with the first back shield when rolling inside the ball. In the event of danger, they can also expel transparent drops of a weir secretion from slit-shaped openings on each intersegmental skin. They also owe the German name Saftkugler to this property .

distribution

The edged juice ball , like all juice balls, has 17 pairs of legs

The Saftkugler are common in the Palearctic , especially in Europe, North America, North Africa and North Asia. Mostly they can be found in the mountains, especially in forests and at the edges of the forest, mostly under pieces of wood or stones. Glomeris subalpina can even be found at altitudes between 1400 and 2500 meters in the Alps, the animals also live there on alpine grass pastures and can even be found under cow dung on the alpine meadows.

development

The mating of the juice balls takes place in spring. The male moves backwards towards the female and then grips the second pair of legs of the female with the pincers of his gonopods of the last segment. Then the male rolls up the front part of his body. This allows it to take sperm from the genital opening on the second segment with the mouthparts and transfer it to the genital opening of the female, which is also located on the second segment.

Eggs are usually laid individually or in groups of two to three eggs in an approx. 2 mm large lump of earth. The larvae are born with only three pairs of legs. Through eight moults, in which a new segment is always created, they develop over a period of three years into adult animals that can live for another three years.

Systematics

The order Saftkugler is the sister taxon of the Riesenkugler . The order is divided into three families :

Selected species found in Central Europe:

literature

  • Heiko Bellmann : Cosmos Atlas Arachnids of Europe. Extra: freshwater crabs, woodlice, millipedes. Kosmos (Franckh-Kosmos), modified edition, 2006, ISBN 3-440-10746-9
  • H. Schildknecht , U. Maschwitz and WF Wenneis: New substances from the defense secretion of the diplopod genus Glomeris. In: Natural Sciences. Vol. 54, No. 8, Verlag Springer, Berlin / Heidelberg, January 1967, ISSN  0028-1042
  • R. Hoess: Identification key for the Glomeris species of Central Europe and neighboring areas (Diplopoda: Glomeridae). In: Yearbook of the Natural History Museum Bern 13: 3-20, 2000, ISSN  0253-4401

Web links

Commons : Saftkugler  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: Saftkugler  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations