Class Symphyla (Garden Centipedes)

Domain: EucaryaKingdom: AnimaliaPhylum: Arthropoda Class Phenology

Orders of the Class Symphyla Discovered in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Order Common Name Photo Example Where? Phenology
Symphyla_orderGarden centipedes(NA) HerePhenology

Can't find the orders you are looking for? Note:
Orders on this list are only those contained in the ATBI database,
and do not neccessarily include all Park orders from historic park reports, literature,
or other sources that have not yet been entered in the Biodiversity Database.
Also note: where the order name ends with '_order', it means that the order
name has not yet been agreed upon by taxonomists for this group,
or that it was not identified to this level.

In Case You Didn't Know ...
Arthropods of the Class Symphyla are tiny, centipede-like animals living beneath the soil surface down to about 500 millimeters (20 inches).
They resemble centipedes, but have no eyes, are much smaller, translucent, and are not predators, but consume decaying vegetation. Their long antennae serve them as sense organs in place of eyes. Juveniles have six pairs of legs, but add a pair with each moulting until they are adults with twelve pairs, and thus they qualify as members of the subphylum Myriapoda (many legged) along with millipedes, centipedes, and pauropods.
Thus far scientists have described approximately 200 species worldwide.
As of the writing of this page, there are only 2 species identified from the Park. We anticipate there to be many more, and several newly discovered species are expected.


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