In millipedes in this family, the head is visible from above, and the
antennae are much longer than the head is wide. The first
tergite (the collum) is smaller than the tergites that follow. The legs are sparesely covered with isolated spines. The female has an elongated
ovipositor. '' (A) male, dorsal view; (B) male, ventral view; (C) telopods; (D) female, lateral view; (E) female, ventral view. Some species, however, seem to deviate from the most common body plan. The description of an adult male of
G. indus, for example, reports 37 pairs of legs, including a pair of telopods, and the same 21 segments are normally found in adult females. Furthermore, the description of a species from another genus (
Glomeridesmoides termitophilus) reports some deviations from the usual pattern, describing females with the usual 21 segments but only 35 leg pairs and two males with the same 21 segments (with 34 and 35 leg pairs, including a pair of telopods). ==Genera==