When SEM becomes a deceptive tool of analysis: the unexpected discovery of epidermal glands with stalked ducts on the ultimate legs of geophilomorph centipedes.

The presence and identity of ultimate leg associated epidermal glands with stalked ducts is a new discovery for myriapods. A pronounced secretory as well as moderate sensory function in Haplophilus subterraneus can be concluded. The set of characters will improve future taxonomic studies, to test the hypotheses whether the presence of these specialized glands is a common feature in Geophilomorpha, and that tarsus 1 may be a derivate of the tibia. As the number of epidermal glands with stalked ducts is sexually dimorphic, their function might be connected to reproduction or a sex-specific defensive role. Our results, in particular the unexpected discovery of 'glandular hairs', may account for a striking example for how deceptive morphological descriptions of epidermal organs may be, if based on non-invasive techniques alone.