Pill millipede

Pill millipedes are short-bodied millipedes in the orders Glomerida and Sphaerotheriida. They protect themselves by curling into a compact ball.

Volvation: The defensive behavior of curling the body into a ball. Pill millipedes use this maneuver to shield their softer underside.
Diplopoda: The arthropod class containing millipedes, characterized by trunk segments that usually bear two pairs of legs. Pill millipedes are a distinctive group within the millipedes.
Leaf litter: The layer of fallen leaves and other dead plant material on a soil surface. Many pill millipedes shelter and forage in this moist, decomposing layer.
Pill bug: A terrestrial crustacean in the genus Armadillidium that curls into a ball when disturbed. Its similar defensive posture can lead to confusion, but it is not a millipede.
Diplopod exoskeleton: The external skeleton of a millipede, made of hardened cuticle and articulated body plates. Its plates overlap during curling to enclose the body.
Glomerida: An order of millipedes, mostly from the Northern Hemisphere, whose members can roll into a ball. This is one of the two orders commonly called pill millipedes.
Detritivore: An organism that obtains nutrients by consuming dead organic matter. Pill millipedes help process decaying plant material as detritivores.
Centipede: A predatory myriapod with one pair of legs on most trunk segments. Centipedes differ from millipedes in leg arrangement and typical diet.
Diplopod tergite: A hardened dorsal plate covering part of a millipede's trunk. Broad tergites form the visible outer shell of a curled pill millipede.
Sphaerotheriida: An order of millipedes whose species can roll into a ball and occur chiefly in the Southern Hemisphere. This is the other order included under the common name.

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MillipedeBroader topic: Its compact defensive coil is a striking specialized millipede behavior.