Opisthocheiron is a genus of millipedes in the familyOpisthocheiridae.[1] These millipedes are found in France and Spain.[2] The French entomologistHenri Ribaut created this genus in 1913 to contain the newly discovered type species Opisthocheiron penicillatum.[3] This genus also includes the cave-dwelling species Opisthocheiron canayerensis, notable as one of only a few species in the orderChordeumatida with only 26 segments in adults (counting the collum as the first segment and the telson as the last), four fewer segments than typically found in adults in this order.[4][5] The adult female of this species has only 42 pairs of legs, and the adult male has only 40 pairs of walking legs, excluding two pairs of gonopods.[4][5]
^ abGeoffroy, Jean-Jacques (1984). "Particularités du Développement Post-embryonaire du Diplopode Craspedosomide Cavernicole Opisthocheiron canayerensis". Mémoires de Biospéologie (in French). 11: 211–220.
