Flat-Backed Millipede (Apheloria montana)
Crawling through moist leaf litter in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest/Keown Fall Trail in Walker County, Georgia, US.
Apheloria montana is a millipede belonging to the Xystodesmidae family. It also belongs to the Polydesmida order, one which has the capability of producing cyanide as a defense mechanism. A. montana has a limited range and is only found in isolated parts of Eastern Tennessee, SE Kentucky, SW Virginia, NC, and the Northern parts of Alabama and Georgia. It is ranked as Vulnerable (S3) in both Tennessee and Virginia.
Similar species: Polydesmida
Uploaded Apr 12, 2018. Captured Mar 11, 2018 09:04 in Forest Service Rd 702, LaFayette, GA 30728, USA.
comments (4)
PS: I did remove "Flat-backed millipede" as the common name for this species, because this term is often used to refer to an entire family or even more species. Posted 6 years ago
Fortunately, a millipede expert (working on his PhD) clued me in on this beauty's identity! It is rare to find it this far south! Posted 5 years ago
Are you on iNat? .......if so I could put you in touch with a PhD in millipede systematics. His research focused on the flat-backed millipedes in the order Polydesmida, particularly the Appalachian Xystodesmidae. Posted 3 years ago