Secret life of millipedes
Monday, August 22, 2011 - 13:30
in Biology & Nature
Male adult helminthomorph millipedes usually have one or two pairs of legs from their seventh segment modified into sexual appendages. These specialized gonopods are used as claspers to hold the female during mating or to transfer sperm. New research has looked in detail at millipede development and the internal reorganization needed to produce functional gonopods.