[2] Most adult females in this order have 36 pairs of legs and 21 segments, counting 20 tergites plus the anal shield.

[6] Descriptions of mature males in at least four species (Glomeridesmus spelaeus, G. siamensis, G. arcostriatus, and G. marmoreus) report 35 leg pairs, including a pair of telopods, and 20 segments, one fewer than the 21 segments found in adult females.

[7] Millipedes in this order develop by hemianamorphosis, with leg and segment number decoupled such that individuals may reach the full complement of one before the other.

[3] Two species (Glomeridesmus spelaeus and G. sbordonii), however, are known cave-dwellers and exhibit troglomorphic adaptations such as loss of pigment.

[6] The five known species of Termitodesmus (constituting the family Termitodesmidae) are even more unusual in that they are found only in termite mounds.