Pyrgodesmidae
Guides
Myrmecodesmus
A genus of small-bodied polydesmid millipedes in the family Pyrgodesmidae. Established by Silvestri in 1910 with a myrmecophilous species from central Veracruz, Mexico. The genus has undergone extensive taxonomic revision, with numerous genera synonymized under it by Shear (1977). Currently includes at least 28 species distributed from Mexico through South America and into the Caribbean.
Poratia
Poratia is a genus of minute polydesmidan millipedes in the family Pyrgodesmidae, characterized by obligate parthenogenetic reproduction via thelytoky. The genus includes Poratia salvator, a small species (3.5 mm length, 0.5 mm width, 19 body segments, brownish-yellow coloration) originally described from El Salvador and recorded from Brazil. Populations exhibit ecological plasticity, inhabiting both strictly terrestrial and periodically inundated environments. Reproduction is independent of males, with extremely skewed sex ratios (approximately 1 male:140 females) and flavobacteria-mediated parthenogenesis demonstrated at the genus level.