White-legged Snake Millipede

Tachypodoiulus niger

''Tachypodoiulus niger'', known variously as the white-legged snake millipede or the black millipede, is a European species of millipede. It occurs in Ireland, Britain, Spain, France, Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and the Czech Republic, and is especially common on chalky and limestone soils.
White-legged Snake Millipede (Tachypodoiulus niger) A difficult photo & video to take, this one.

I spotted this Millipede in the early hours while walking home from feeding my fox (more of him at a later date) and as you can see the Millipede is tiny, seen here in the crease of a leaf, illuminated by torch.

Nonetheless, fascinating to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpotHGdA0x0 Fall,Geotagged,Tachypodoiulus niger,United Kingdom

Appearance

''T. niger'' has a roughly cylindrical shiny black body, with around 100 pairs of contrasting white legs on its 41–56 body segments. It lives in leaf litter, under bark or in moss, and feeds on encrusting algae, detritus and sometimes fruit such as raspberries. Predators of ''T. niger'' include the centipedes ''Lithobius variegatus'' and ''Lithobius forficatus'' and hedgehogs.

It is very similar to other species such as ''Cylindroiulus londinensis'', from which it can be reliably distinguished only by studying the shape of the telson.

Behavior

''T. niger'' is most active from one hour after sunset to one hour before sunrise, although in summer it also becomes active in the afternoon. Like many millipedes, ''T. niger'' coils itself into a spiral, with its legs on the inside and its head in the centre, when it is threatened, but it can also flee with sidewinding movements.

References:

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Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionArthropoda
ClassDiplopoda
OrderJulida
FamilyJulidae
GenusTachypodoiulus
SpeciesT. niger
Photographed in
United Kingdom