Millipede Facts for Kids

19 Millipede Facts For Kids

1. Millipede is the common name for a large group of elongated arthropods in the Diplopoda class.
2. Millipedes are not insects, true insects are in the Insecta class, millipedes are more related to shrimp and lobsters.
3. You can identify a millipede by their thin elongated bodies with legs along the entire length of their body.
4. Millipedes and their ancient ancestors first started to appear around 420 million years ago.
5. It is common to confuse millipedes and centipedes, they are different, centipedes have only one leg per segment, while millipedes have two legs per segment.
6. Millipedes are widely distributed and can be found on every continent, expect Antarctica.
7. Millipedes can be found living in almost any terrestrial habitat, with some species living in the Arctic Circle.
8. Most millipede species are black, brown or gray, but a few species have more bright colors.
9. Millipedes are omnivorous and classified as detritivores because they eat decomposing plant and animal materials.
10. Millipedes are slow and cannot bite or stick, so their main defense mechanism is to use their hard exoskeleton by curling up into a tight ball, protecting its vulnerable underside.
11. The diet of a millipede usually includes decomposing plants, animal feces, and organic material found in soil.
12. There are around 12,000 living millipede species found around the world.
13. Estimates claim there could be another 3,000 to 58,000 millipede species yet to be discovered.
14. Millipede species have between 40 and 1,000 legs, varying by species and habitat.
15. The millipede species with the most legs is Eumillipes Persephone with more than 1,000 legs.
16. The average lifespan for all millipede species is between 7 and 10 years.
17. The smallest living millipede species is the Siphoniulus alba which has a length of only 0.3 inches.
18. The largest living millipede species is the giant African millipede (Archispirostreptus gigas) which can reach a length of 13.2 inches.
19. The largest millipede species to ever crawl on our planet was the Arthropleura armata which reached over 8 feet in length between 290 and 345 million years ago.

Millipede Pictures

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the below images will be helpful for your research on millipedes. Below are three pictures of various millipede species. These pictures should help you better understand the different types of millipedes found around the world.

A picture of a giant millipede on a log.

A picture of small millipede in the dirt.

A picture of a millipede climbing a tree.