#pauropoda

[ineffable-gallimaufry]

it's that time of year again. have some arthropod valentines

[a-book-of-creatures]

Pauropods and symphylans.

Art by Roger Gorringe for The Complete Encyclopedia of the Animal World by David M. Burn (1980).

[every-day-creechur]

Decapauropus spp.

A genus of pauropods found worldwide. Some species have females with ten pairs of legs instead of the nine leg pairs usually found in adult pauropods in the order Tetramerocerata. Their preferred habitat is warm and moist soil.

image by Turner Brockman

[crevicedwelling]

it has been a foul time for this sorry worm, but at least I saw a pauropod the other day.

[bestanimal]

Round 2 - Arthropoda - Pauropoda

(Sources - 1, 2, 3, 4)

Pauropoda is a class of small, pale, millipede-like arthropods. They are composed of two orders: the Hexamerocerata with eleven pairs of legs and telescopic antennae and the Tetramerocerata with eight to ten pairs of legs and short, non-telescopic antennae.

Pauropods live in soil and leaf litter worldwide, feeding on mold, fungi, and occasionally the root hairs of plants. They are small, soft-bodied animals, only 0.3 to 2 mm in length. They do not have eyes, though they do have sensory organs which detect light. Long, sensory hairs called trichobothria are located throughout their body segments. Their anal plate is distinctive, helping distinguish between species.

Like centipedes, pauropods do not mate directly. Males place a sperm packet on the ground for females to find. Females deposit the fertilized eggs on the ground and subsequently abandon them. Tetrameroceratans hatch with three pairs of legs and Hexameroceratans with six, adding a new segment after each molt in a process called anamorphosis. Pauropods will continue molting even after their adult number of segments is reached, without adding any further segments or legs.

How do you feel about Pauropoda? (Remember to vote for your favorite animal within this group, not how you feel about the group as a whole!)

One or more of my favorite animals is in Pauropoda

I love one or more of these animals

I like one or more of these animals

I am neutral about all of these animals

I dislike all of these animals

I hate all of these animals

Voting ended onNov 12, 2024

Propaganda under the cut:

Gif comes from this video. Look at him sniffin around!

The first pauropod discovered was found by Lord Avebury in his own garden in London in 1866. He wrote of the creature: “Pauropus huxleyi is a bustling, active, neat and cleanly creature. It has, too, a look of cheerful intelligence, which forms a great contrast to the dull stupidity of the Diplopods, or the melancholy ferocity of most Chilopods.” (Which, kinda rude, but y’know)

Only one fossil species is known, Eopauropus balticus, which was found in mid-Eocene Baltic amber.

[every-day-creechur]

Trachypauropus spp.

A genus of pauropods found in Europe.

image by quadratmeter

[every-day-creechur]

Samarangopus spp.

A genus of pauropods found in Asia. Pauropods are soft, cylindrical millipede-like animals with bodies measuring only 0.3 to 2 mm in length. They have neither eyes nor hearts, although they do have sensory organs which can detect light. They live in soil and leaf mold.

image by Andy Murray

[spinningwheeloftime]

Uniramia gang

Diplopoda

-“can we all just chill and maybe....”

-doesn’t finish sentences

-will take the unfinished food off your plate right before the waiter takes it

-legs for days but walks super slow

-rolls over to you at 3 am and asks if you’re awake

-likes gardening

Chilopoda

-wants to fight people over small things

-canine teeth that are entirely too long

-can be found peeling ham out of the packet late at night in large quantities

-has legs for days but walks at the speed of light

-throws things when they don’t work

Pauropoda

-“hhhhhh?”

-has not seen the sun in decades

-lies on the floor a lot

-can walk fast or slow but is constantly turning around to go another direction

“are we there yet?”

Symphyla

-skinny legend

-true cryptid

-self-deprecating humor that no one has the heart to say isn’t funny

-fast walk but gets tired in 20 seconds

-old soul in a young body

Insecta

-wore fairy wings when they were younger

-non gmo only

-blasts 80s disco music when upset

-likes swimming and wants to swim as transport

-wants to do things but gets bored of those things