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Ommatoiulus sp.
How many legs does this one have?
Limestone outcrop in foothills of los Serranos mountains.
Pics 4 & 5 show an old exuvia, No evidence of legs on the last segment but not able to determine the number of legs o the adjacent segments. At the front end the first few segments only have one pair of legs. The first segment has none and the second has a pair of hooks - perhaps they are used like arms.
6 Comments
The rules for different species are different. As per the above heading this is Ommatoiulus sp. which has its own specific rules, but even they vary, depending on male or female. The first and last segments have none.
Here is a diagram for O. moreleti male https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ommatoiulu...
but, this almost certainly is not that species but one of the many undocumented localised species so it is necessary to count all the legs in a lab. Segments 6 & 7 have no legs as they are used for the reproductive system The number of segments with only one pair of legs can vary from 1 up to 7 or more. The figure for this one is closer to about 180 at most.
One hundred and ninety.....
Millipedes have two pairs of legs per body segment, except for the first three segments, which have one pair of legs each....
Millipedes have two pairs of legs per body segment .....
Cool!
One hundred and ninety six?