millipede

Segmented garden dweller

A millipede is a many-legged arthropod with an elongated, segmented body—each segment bearing two pairs of legs.

Despite the name suggesting a thousand feet, most species have between 30 and 400.

Millipedes are slow-moving and feed on decaying plant matter, curling into a spiral when threatened.

They're often confused with centipedes, which are faster, flatter, and have one pair of legs per segment.

movement

crawl

Move slowly, low

  • creepStealthy, slow movement
  • inchTwelfth of a foot
  • curlSpiral or loop form

coil · burrow · scuttle · wriggle · undulate · glide · roll · tunnel

ecology

decomposer

Organism breaking down corpses

rotting wood · forest floor · compost · detritus · fungus · decay · mulch · logs · garden · terrarium

anatomy

exoskeleton

External skeletal structure

legs · chitin · spiracles · tracheae · ocelli

arthropod

invertebrate

Animal sans backbone

trilobite · woodlouse · isopod · arachnid · hexapod · molt · instar

Categories
Opposites
myriapod type

millipedecentipede

Multi-segmented, many-legged predator

house centipede

leg quantity (literal/humorous)

millipedesnake

Limbless scaled reptile

worm · legless lizard · slug · eel · earthworm

Family

millipedes, milliped

Familiarity
Top 100,000
Profile
Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G