Real North American Millipede (Narceus americanus) specimen encased in clear lucite material. The specimen is crystal clear, indestructible and transparent. Safe, authentic and completely unbreakable product put real Millipede right at your fingertips!

Anyone can safely explore the Millipede from every angle.

It is clear enough for microscope observation.

Length of the Millipede is 7 cm(2.8 inch).

Size of the lucite block is 7.3x4.0x2.2 cm (2.9x1.6x0.8 inch).

Each one comes with a cardboard box for easy storage.

Weight of the lucite block is 100g and 125g with the box.

This is a handmade real animal specimen craft. Each one will be a bit different (specimen size, color and posture) even in the same production batch.
The pictures in the listing are just for reference as we are selling multiple pieces with same pictures.

It is an ideal learning aid for students and kids and also a very good collectible item for every body.

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North American Millipede - Narceus americanus

Narceus americanus is a large North American millipede. It inhabits the eastern seaboard of North America west to Georgetown, Texas, north of the Ottine swamps. It has a nearly cylindrical gray body, reaching a length of 4 inches (100 mm). When threatened, they sometimes curl up or release a noxious liquid that contains large amounts of benzoquinones which can cause dermatological burns. This fluid may irritate eyes or skin. Many other millipedes secrete hydrogen cyanide, and while there have also been claims that N. americanus releases hydrogen cyanide, this is not true. They do however, excrete a substance that causes a temporary, non-harmful discoloration of the skin.

Millipedes (Class Diplopoda, previously also known as Chilognatha) are arthropods that have two pairs of legs per segment (except for the first segment behind the head which does not have any appendages at all, and the next few which only have one pair of legs). Each segment that has two pairs of legs is a result of two single segments fused together as one. Most millipedes have very elongated cylindrical bodies, although some are flattened dorso-ventrally, while pill millipedes are shorter and can roll into a ball, like a pillbug. Millipedes are detritivores and slow moving. Most millipedes eat decaying leaves and other dead plant matter, moisturising the food with secretions and then scraping it in with the jaws. However they can also be a minor garden pest, especially in greenhouses where they can cause severe damage to emergent seedlings. Signs of millipede damage include the stripping of the outer layers of a young plant stem and irregular damage to leaves and plant apices.

This class contains around 10,000 species. There are 13 orders and 115 families.

The giant African millipede (Archispirostreptus gigas) is the largest species of millipede.

Milipedes can be easily distinguished from the somewhat similar and closely related centipedes (Class Chilopoda), which move rapidly, and have a single pair of legs for each body segment.

This class of arthropods is thought to be among the first animals to have colonised land during the Silurian geologic period. These early forms probably ate mosses and primitive vascular plants. The oldest known land animal, Pneumodesmus newmani, was a 1 centimetre-long millipede.

Characteristics

The North American millipede Narceus americanus, showing the abundance of legs typical for many millipedes

The millipede's most obvious feature is its large number of legs. In fact, its name is a compound word formed from the Latin roots milli ("thousand") and ped ("foot"). Despite their name, these creatures do not have a thousand legs, although the rare species Illacme plenipes have up to 750. However, common species have between 80 and 400 legs.

Having very many short legs makes millipedes rather slow, but they are powerful burrowers. With their legs and body length moving in a wavelike pattern, they easily force their way underground head first. They also seem to have some engineering ability, reinforcing the tunnel by rearranging the particles around it.

The head contains a pair of sensory organs known as the Tömösváry organs. These are found just posterior and lateral to the antennae, and are shaped as small and oval rings at the base of the antennae. They are probably used to measure the humidity in the surroundings, and they may have some chemoreceptory abilities too. Millipede eyes consist of a number of simple flat lensed ocelli arranged in a group on the front/side of the head. Many species of millipedes such as cave-dwelling millipedes, have secondarily lost their eyes.

In very rare instances, a millipede may be amphibious.

Defense mechanisms

Due to their lack of speed and their inability to bite or sting, millipedes' primary defense mechanism is to curl into a tight coil — protecting their delicate legs inside an armoured body exterior. Many species also emit poisonous liquid secretions or hydrogen cyanide gas through microscopic pores along the sides of their bodies as a secondary defence . Some of these substances are caustic and can burn the exoskeleton of ants and other insect predators, and the skin and eyes of larger predators. Lemurs have been observed intentionally irritating millipedes in order to rub the chemicals on themselves to repel insect pests, and possibly to produce a psychoactive effect.

As far as humans are concerned, this chemical brew is fairly harmless, usually causing only minor effects on the skin, the main effect being discoloration, but other effects may also include pain, itching, local erythema, edema, blisters, eczema, and occasionally cracked skin. Eye exposures to these secretions causes general eye irritation and potentially more severe effects such as conjunctivitis and keratitis. First aid consists of flushing the area thoroughly with water, further treatment is aimed at relieving the local effects.

Millipedes as pets

Many millipedes are quite docile and may safely be kept as pets and handled without risk of injury. The giant African millipede (Archispirostreptus gigas) is a common pet. These can be found at pet stores for reasonable prices. Sometimes very similar millipedes can be bought under the name Lophostreptus rutilans but in most cases it is just Archispirostreptus gigas. With the proper caging and feeding, pet millipedes can live up to about 7 years and grow to be as long as 15 inches.