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Trigoniulus corallinus

Veri Tinito

Purple Millipede

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Millipede (Rarotonga)	54KB
Image:	Trigoniulus corallinus vs Leptogoniulus sorornus	63KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Purple Millipede; German Doppelfüsser

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Veri Tinitō (MG MT AK TW), Veli Tinitō (TS PK)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Micronesia - Marquesas

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent, Naturalised; S.Group; ?; Land, lowlands to uplands; leaf-litter

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: ; Poisonous secretions - serious

KEY FEATURES: To 35mm TL.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Leptogoniulus sorornus (=Trigoniulus narseii recorded Societies & MQS, but not yet known in the Cook Islands)

Enlarged Image of 'Trigoniulus corallinus'

Cook Islands Distribution

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Southern Group: Present Makatea:
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
++++

Northern Group:
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
			++

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Trigoniulus corallinus (Gervais)
SYNONYMS: Trigoniulus lumbricinus

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; ARTHROPODA; ATELOCERATA; DIPLOPODA; Chilognatha; Spirobolida; PACHYBOLIDAE

More Information

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -
NEGATIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Poisonous secretions - serious. Comments: During prolonged contact noxious secretions can cause skin discoloration and blistering. Healing is slow.

GENERAL NOTE: For defense millipedes secrete noxious chemicals from pores along the sides of their bodies. The chemicals include: hydrocyanic acid (in Polydesmids), alkaloids (in Glomeris) or benzoquinones (in Iules). For humans, these chemicals can cause skin irritation, blistering, brown staining and pain. The effects are slow to heal.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Rarotonga: photo GM, tentative ID R.Shelley 6/2002. Pukapuka: specimen+photo, 2/2004, G.McCormack with ID as QQTrigoniulus corallinus, to BPBM.

References:
None recorded.

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02, zD02

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
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