Chordeumatida

Chordeumatidea Craspedosomatidea Heterochordeumatidea Striariidea Ascospermophora Verhoeff, 1900 Craspedosomatida Jeekel, 1971 Chordeumatida (from the Greek word for "sausage") is a large order of millipedes containing more than 1,400 species.

[3] Chordeumatida is the largest order in the superorder Nematophora, a group also known as spinning millipedes because their telsons feature spinnerets used to build nests of silk.

A key feature is the presence of six large bristles (setae) on the dorsal surface of each body segment, three on each side.

The first segment (collum) is relatively narrow, giving the appearance of a distinct "neck" in many species, and the body tapers towards the rear.

A dorsal groove runs down the length of the body, and some species feature paranota, lateral extensions of the exoskeleton.

[5][4] Some species also deviate from the usual body plan by reducing or eliminating leg pairs in the adult female.

These millipedes are found in the tropics of Central America, Southeast Asia, and Oceania, and as far south as Tasmania, New Zealand, and Chiloé Island, Chile.

They are abundant in cold, rocky, mountainous areas of Europe and central Asia, and range northward to Scandinavia, Siberia, and in North America up into Canada and southwest Alaska.

Atractosoma (Craspedosomatidae) from Germany
Craspedosoma (Craspedosomatidae) from Belgium
A pair of Haasea (Haaseidae) from Germany. The dorsal groove is visible
Schedotrigona (Metopidiotrichidae) from New Zealand