| Apheloria tigana | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Mating pair in captivity | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Myriapoda |
| Class: | Diplopoda |
| Order: | Polydesmida |
| Family: | Xystodesmidae |
| Genus: | Apheloria |
| Species: | A. tigana |
| Binomial name | |
| Apheloria tigana Chamberlin, 1939 | |
| Synonyms | |
Apheloria aspilaChamberlin, 1939 | |
Apheloria tigana, also known as the yellow and black flat millipede, is a large North American flat-backed millipede in the family Xystodesmidae. [1] [2] This millipede secretes cyanide compounds as a defense. [1] Authorities recommend washing hands after handling these millipedes as these secreted compounds are toxic and can cause irritation if rubbed in the eyes. [3]
Characteristics include yellow paranota (lateral segmental expansions on the dorsa), a yellow mid-dorsal spot on the anterior margin of the collum or first segment, and yellow mid-dorsal spots on the last three to five segments. South of the Cape Fear River basin there is an undescribed Apheloria species with yellow middorsal marks on most segments. [4]
This millipede is found from coastal southeastern North Carolina to the Blue Ridge Mountains in Franklin and Floyd counties in Virginia. [5]
Although A. tigana was once accepted as a valid species, [5] in 2017, authorities deemed A. tigana to be a junior synonym of another species of Apheloria , A. virginiensis, based on the morphology of these millipedes. [6] In 2025, a phylogenetic analysis of the genus Apheloria using molecular data confirmed this proposed synonymy, finding A. tigana to be the same species as A. virginiensis. [7]
