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Flat Backed Millipede

Polydesmida

Photo by Dan Doucette
Published on Project Noah
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-19.7904, -42.1393

Field Notes

Description:

black, yellow tipped segments, about 4" long

Habitat:

atlantic coast rainforest

Notes:

I spotted this in the leaf litter beside a trail in Caratinga Biological reserve.

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (16)

It does look like Harpaphe haydeniana a lot but apparently its not found in S. America. It really looks like the one in the youtube video, except its not blue. That seems to be the closest match. I appreciate the dedicated search.
wait there is more: maybe it is Apheloria tigana http://www.duke.edu/~jspippen/naturephotos/millipedes.htm ... though those guys don´t seem flat enough, but it´s a start
wow, scary looking fella. U mentioned the millipede from Costa Rica - it does kind of look familiar, like a little brother or so. I found an article about a costumer finding one of this specimen in his newly bought Yucca pot. It was about 10 cm long. Then another article about a photographer finding 2 similar millipedes in Tambopata, Peru. Dez 09. (http://www.raywilsonbirdphotography.co.uk/Galleries/Invertebrates/Myriapoda/Myriapoda.html) Not satisfying though, that I only found out the groups name: Myriapoda Another article: Taxonomic contact group for millipedes: Arachnida, Myriapoda Gonzalo Giribet Museum of Comparative Zoology Harvard University, 16 Divinity Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138, USA [email protected]
I ran into a short blurb on millipedes today and there's an order called Polydesmida, the flat-backed millipedes. You might start your search there, but I can't promise that I'm anywhere near correct.
Understandable, it takes time to adjust after being out of the country for a while. Look forward to your spottings. I've never seen a Luna moth until I came to Noah.
I've been trying to pop in a bit more after a lull in activity. I returned from Costa Rica about a month ago and I'm still getting adjusted. I also started a project with a grant I received from my college, so I've been devoting a lot of time to that. I'm hoping to get a lot more pictures uploaded soon, I've found some neat stuff this summer, including my first luna moth.
That's ok, any help is appreciated. Cool, your spotting has similarities. Maybe the same family? We've missed your expertise on Noah lately.
Alas, my knowledge on millipedes and centipedes is limited to being able to tell them apart haha. In a few weeks I'll be attending a workshop about millipedes and centipedes, however, so hopefully I can be more useful after that! Interestingly enough though, I have a picture of a millipede from Costa Rica that has similar spikes on its body here: http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/5949990
I knew it was one or the other! Hahaha! Thanks Latimeria. Any guess to family or anything?
Great shot Dan. This looks more like a millipede, however. It has two pairs of legs per segment, which is characteristic of millipedes. Centipedes have one pair of legs per segment, and they're usually out to the side more, while millipedes have their legs positioned under the bodies more, such as this one.

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