Mar 26
Uncharismatic Fact of the Day
Despite their excessive number of legs, millipedes don't dance; but some of them can sing! Members of the genus Sphaeromimus, or chirping giant millipedes, use special appendages on their legs to produce sound by rubbing them together, similar to crickets and katydids; this method of producing sound is called called stridulation. Both males and female chirping giant millipedes have the appendages necessary to produce sound, although only the males produce sound, typically to prevent the female from rolling into a ball during mating attempts.
(Image: Three Sphaeromimus musicus (top row and bottom right) and one Zoosphaerium blandum (bottom left) by Thomas Wesener)
