Spirostreptus is a common millipede that lives in damp places under logs and decaying leaves. It plays an important role in decomposing organic matter and adding it to soil. The millipede has a cylindrical body with many segments covered by a hard exoskeleton. Each body segment contains a pair of legs, except for some segments on the male and towards the back. It protects itself by curling into a ball or releasing unpleasant smelling secretions from its stink glands when threatened.

1. SPIROSTREPTUS
ABDULJALEEL K
ASSIST PROFESSOR
GOVERNMENT COLLEGE
KASARAGOD

3. • 1Spirostreptus is the common millipede.

5. • It is a sluggish and slow moving animal, commonly living in damp
places, underneath stones and logs, among decaying leaves, in
rotten timber, etc.

7. • ⃣It plays an important role in adding leaves and other organic debris
into soil.

8. ⃣Some species of millipedes are pests of crops.
⃣Body is cylindrical and covered by hard and calcified exoskeleton.

10. ⃣Body has two regions, head and trunk.
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11. • Head bears paired antennae, mandibles, first maxilla and several
ocelli, second maxillae are absent. Each mandible has a movable
distal masticatory lobe, provided with teeth and rasping surface.
Antennae are short and tactile. Mandibles are large. First maxillae of
the two sides fuse to form a labium-like plate.

12. • 8.Trunk is many-segmented. Each segment is covered by an
exoskeletal ring, formed by the fusion

13. • 9️⃣Each diplosegment bears two pairs each of legs, spiracles, ostia and
nerve ganglia. The first segment is limbless. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th
segments have only one pair of legs each. The last two segments,
and also the 7th segment of male are legless.

15. • The 7th segment in male bears a pair of accessory copulatory
apparatus. Last segment is the anal segment. It is larger than others.
Each segment also has a pair of openings of the stink ducts.

16. • Located along the sides of the trunk internally are numerous stink
glands. These glands secrete a fluid with an unpleasant odour.

17. • Respiratory organs are trachae, opening out by two pairs of spiracles
in each diplosegment and by one pair in each monosegment.

18. • Interestingly, the animal curls to a roll for protection from enemies,
when irritated or threatened.

19. • It also protects itself by discharging the secretion of its stink glands
which has an unpleasant odour. It is repellent or toxic to small
animals, and sometimes caustic to human skin.
• It contains prussic acid, aldehydes, quinones, phenols, hydrogen
cyanide, etc.

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