Black millipede, Tachypodoiulus niger

Scanning electron micrograph of a black millipede, Tachypodoiulus niger. The picture shows a coiled up millipede, with body segments (top) and pairs of legs (below left). Millipedes are arthropods; they have segmented bodies, each segment with a pair of legs. T. niger has about 50 segments. Despite the common name, no millipede has 1000 legs.The head ( red/brown) carries two elbowed antennae (blue/grey) tipped with sensory cones. To top left on the head are 13 simple eyes (ocelli) seen as a triangular group of small bulges. At the base of the head are the mandibles. Millipedes have an important and beneficial role in recycling dead plant material. In contrast to centipedes, they are slow-moving non-predatory creatures that do not bite and carry no venom. They are common in damp litter of woodlands and gardens, and may enter glasshouses and domestic buildings. Mag x 95 at 10x8, by DR JEREMY BURGESS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY