Classification by S u n i t a  N a n d i h a l l i

 

  • Domain: Eukaryota
    This organism’s cells have membrane-bound nuclei and organelles. (Campbell et al. 2008).

  • Kingdom: Animalia
     This organism is eukaryotic, multicellular, heterotrophic, is motile at some stage in its life cycle, and lacks a structural cell wall. (Campbell et al. 2008).

  • Phylum: Arthropoda
     This organism is an invertebrate that has an exoskeleton and a segmented body with jointed limbs. (Campbell et al. 2008).

  • Superclass: Myriapoda
     This organism is an arthropod whose body is composed of numerous segments each adorned usually with two pairs of legs. (Ruppert & Barnes 1994)

  • Class: Diplopoda
    This organism is a millipede. (Blower 1985)

  • Order: Polydesmida
    This organism is a true, flat-backed millipede. (Hopkin & Reed, 1992).

    Family: Xystoesmida
    This organism is a millipede that lacks eyes, has stink glands, and has gonopods on the first pair of legs on the seventh segment. (Schimming & Shelley 2008).

  • Genus: Harpaphe
    This organism is a millipede that lives on the Pacific coast from southern Alaska to central California. (Chamberlin & Hoffman, 1958).

  • Species: Haydeniana
    This organism is a millipede with a shiny black body and bright yellow patches on the outside portion of most of its segments. (Schimming & Shelley 2008).

phylotree1
Figure 1. Millipedes including H. haydeniana belong to the phylum Arthropoda

phylotree2
Figure 2. A breakdown of the class Diplopoda shows the location of the order Polydesmida on the phylogenetic tree.



References in Order of Appearance:

Campbell, N.A., Reece, J.B., Urry, L.A., Cain, M.L., Wasserman, S.A., Minorsky, P.V., Jackson, R.B. 2008. Biology. Pearson Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco, California, U.S.A.

Ruppert, E.E. and Barnes, R.D. 1994. Invertebrate Zoology. Saunders College Publishing, Fort Worth, U.S.A.

Blower, J.G. 1985. Millipedes keys and notes for the identification of the species. The Linnean Society of London, London, England. 

Hopkin, S.P. and Read, H.J. 1992. The biology of millipedes. Oxford University Press, New York, U.S.A.

Schimming, L. and Shelley, R. 2008. Species harpaphe haydeniana. Iowa State University Entomology. <URL: http://bugguide.net/node/view/15008> Accessed 9 November 2013.

Chamberlin, R.V. and Hoffman, R.L. 1958. Checklist of the millipedes of North America. United States Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., U.S.A.

Photo References:

Wikimedia Commons 2011. <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Harpaphe_haydeniana_0446.JPG> Accessed 6 December 2013.

Original drawings by Sunita Nandihalli 2013