Aprosphylosoma facts for kids

Aprosphylosoma darceneae is a very special type of millipede that lives only in Oregon, USA. It's the only known species in its entire family, called Aprosphylosomatidae. This tiny creature was first found in 1956 inside the Oregon Caves National Monument.

Meet the Oregon Cave Millipede

This millipede is quite small. It's about 16 mm (0.63 in) long, which is less than an inch. It is only 1 mm wide. Imagine a tiny pencil lead! It has 59 body segments, which are like many small rings joined together. Its body is yellowish-brown with darker brown spots on its back. Its legs are white. A unique thing about this millipede is that its first pair of legs are very small and look like tiny pegs.

How Scientists Classified It

When Aprosphylosoma was first discovered, scientists thought it belonged to a different family of millipedes called Nemasomatidae. They even gave it a special group name within that family.

Later, scientists used a method called cladistic analysis. This is a way to study how living things are related to each other. This study suggested that Aprosphylosoma actually fit better into a family called Paeromopodidae.

Even more studies were done. These studies showed that this millipede was so unique that it needed its very own family. That's how the family Aprosphylosomatidae was created. This new family, along with Paeromopodidae, forms a larger group called Paeromopodoidea.