Symphyla

These tiny bugs live in the dirt.

They look like small centipedes. They eat old plants and roots. They move very fast in the soil. They are safe to be near.

These bugs have soft bodies. They do not have eyes. They use long feelers to sense things. They live in damp places like under stones.

Some bugs eat seeds and roots. This can hurt plants in a garden. They can live for four years. They grow more legs as they get older. Most adults have twelve pairs of legs. They are very interesting little creatures.

Symphylans are tiny animals that live in the soil.

Some people call them garden centipedes. They look like centipedes, but they are very small. They do not have venom. There are more than 200 kinds of symphylans in the world. Most live in moist places like under stones or in old wood. They eat decaying plants. Some kinds can hurt crops by eating seeds and roots.

These animals have soft bodies. They do not have eyes. They use long antennae, which are feelers, to sense things. Their bodies have 14 segments. Most adults have twelve pairs of legs. When they are young, they have only six or seven pairs. They grow more legs each time they moult, which is when they shed their old skin to grow.

Symphylans breathe through small holes on their heads. These holes are called spiracles.

To make babies, the male leaves small packages of sperm on silk stalks. The female picks these up with her mouth. She then puts her eggs in small cracks or in moss. She uses her mouth to smear the sperm over the eggs. They can live for up to four years.

Symphylans are tiny soil animals known as garden centipedes or pseudocentipedes. They belong to a group of animals called Myriapoda. These creatures live deep in the soil or under stones. They also like moist places like decaying wood. Most symphylans are herbivores that eat decaying plants. Some species are also predators or eat dead matter. However, some can be pests to farmers. For example, the garden symphylan can eat seeds and roots. In Queensland, some species eat sugar cane and pineapples.

A symphylan body is long and soft. They do not have eyes or color. Their head has long antennae to help them sense the world. They also have special organs at the base of the antennae to feel vibrations. The body has 14 segments. Most adults have twelve pairs of legs on these segments. Young ones start with only six or seven pairs of legs. They add more legs each time they moult, which is when they shed their skin. This way of growing is called hemianamorphosis.

These animals have a very interesting way of making babies. Males do not mate directly with females. Instead, the male puts 150 to 450 sperm packages, called spermatophores, on small silk stalks. The female uses her mouth to pick these up. She stores them in special pouches in her mouth. Then, she lays eggs in groups of eight to twelve. She attaches the eggs to moss or cracks in the soil. As she lays them, she smears the sperm over the eggs.

Scientists have found clues about these animals in the past. They found a fossil called Symphylella patrickmuelleri in Burmese amber. This fossil was from the middle Cretaceous period, about 99 million years ago. This fossil shows the animal releasing long silk threads. We only know of five fossil species so far. These fossils suggest that these animal families split apart a long time ago. Most studies say they are closer to millipedes than centipedes. However, some studies on their DNA show different results.

Symphylans share some traits with early insects. They have a labium, which is a part of the mouth. They also have the same number of head segments as some insects. They breathe through small holes called spiracles. These holes are on the sides of their heads. This is the only type of arthropod with breathing holes on the head. Each leg has a tiny sac called a coxal sac. This helps the animal soak up moisture from its home.

Symphylans are small, soil-dwelling arthropods belonging to the class Symphyla. They are often called garden centipedes or pseudocentipedes because of their appearance. While they look like centipedes, they are non-venomous and very tiny. These creatures play important roles in their ecosystems as they live in moist environments. They are commonly found deep in the soil, under stones, or in decaying wood. There are more than 200 known species living across the entire world.

The body of a symphylan is long, soft, and lacks pigment or eyes. It is divided into two main regions: the head and the trunk. The trunk consists of 14 segments. These segments are covered by microhairs and various dorsal tergal plates. The number of plates can change between species to help with body flexibility. For instance, Scutigerella and Hanseniella have 15 plates, while Ribautiella can have up to 24. The head features long, segmented antennae that act as sense organs. At the base of these antennae, they have disc-like organs of Tömösváry that likely sense vibrations.

Symphylans have a unique way of growing through a process called hemianamorphosis. When they first hatch, immature individuals have only six or seven pairs of legs. As they grow, they undergo a moult, which is when they shed their skin. They add one additional pair of legs during each moult. Most adults eventually reach a stage where they have twelve pairs of legs. However, some species like those in the genus Symphylella are different. In these species, the first pair of legs is absent or vestigial, leaving them with only eleven pairs.

Most symphylans are herbivores or detritus feeders that eat decaying vegetation. However, their feeding habits can sometimes cause problems in agriculture. The garden symphylan, Scutigerella immaculata, can be a pest because it consumes seeds, roots, and root hairs. Other species of Hanseniella have been noted as pests for pineapples and sugar cane in Queensland. While most eat dead matter, some species are saprophagous. Interestingly, a few species of Symphylella are predominantly predatory instead of eating plants.

Reproduction in symphylans does not involve direct copulation between the male and female. Instead, the male produces between 150 and 450 packages of sperm called spermatophores. He places these packages on small stalks made of silk. The female then uses her mouth to pick up the spermatophores. She stores the sperm in special pouches located inside her mouth. When she is ready, she lays eggs in groups of eight to twelve. She attaches these eggs to moss, lichen, or crevices and smears the sperm over them.

Symphylans possess several physical traits that link them to early insects. They have a labium, which is a structure formed by the fusion of the second maxillae. They also share an identical number of head segments with some primitive insects. Each pair of legs is connected to an eversible structure known as a coxal sac. These sacs help the animal absorb moisture from its surroundings. Additionally, they have a small stylus on each leg that may serve a sensory function. They are also the only arthropods that breathe through spiracles located on the head.

The fossil record for symphylans is quite limited, with only five species currently recorded. These fossils are mostly placed within living genera. The oldest records come from Burmese amber dating to the middle Cretaceous period, about 99 million years ago. One specific fossil, Symphylella patrickmuelleri, was found preserved in this amber. This fossil shows the animal releasing long threads of silk. These findings suggest that the different families of symphylans diverged before the end of the Mesozoic Era.

Scientists continue to study how symphylans are related to other animals. Despite their common name, morphological studies often place them in a clade called Progoneata. This means they are likely more closely related to millipedes and pauropods than to centipedes. Molecular studies have provided conflicting results on this topic. Some DNA evidence supports the Progoneata grouping, while other studies align them with centipedes. Regardless of these debates, the clade is believed to be monophyletic, meaning it shares a single common ancestor.