Agenodesmus
genus of myriapods
Agenodesmus is a genus of millipedes in the family Fuhrmannodesmidae, which some authorities consider a junior synonym of Trichopolydesmidae. This genus is notable for being among the very few genera in the order Polydesmida to feature adults with only 18 segments (including the telson) rather than the 20 segments usually found in this order. The genus Agenodesmus contains only two species, A. reticulatus and A. nullus. The type species A. reticulatus is notable as the first polydesmidan millipede discovered with only 18 segments in adults, the smallest number recorded in the order Polydesmida. Before the discovery of A. reticulatus, polydesmidans were known to have only 19 or 20 segments in adults.
Discovery and distribution
The American biologists Orator F. Cook and Harold F. Loomis found the first specimens of A. reticulatus, including the male type specimen and several females, in Haiti in June 1927. Eleven more specimens were found in 1930 and 1932, including mature females as well as young, in not only Haiti but also Saint Kitts, Saint Lucia, Dominica, and Grenada. Loomis first described the genus Agenodesmus and its type species A. reticulatus in 1934 based on these specimens. This species is usually found in moist dead leaves.
A closely related species with only 18 segments in adults, Hexadesmus lateridens, was discovered in Cuba in 1931, with Loomis finding additional specimens in Saint Kitts and Carriacou in 1932.
The public source identifies “Agenodesmus” as genus of myriapods. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Agenodesmus, genus and myriapods.
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Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6439617. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1927, 1930, 1932 and 1934.
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This entry incorporates text from “Agenodesmus” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.