Giant African Millipede

♂ Giant African Millipede, Archispirostreptus sp.

A male Giant African Millipede is identified by the gonopods, or "modified legs". These are usually located on the seventh sternite of the body of the adult male form. For the female millipede, the vulvae is located under the second sternite where sperm may be stored for up to months. She will later make a nest of compressed soil below ground to lay hundreds of eggs, which remain unfertilized until that process. Although the female may guard the eggs until they hatch, she will abandon the young right after hatching.