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iNat·464274GenusAnimalia416 field observations
  1. Animals
  2. ›Arthropods
  3. ›Myriapods
  4. ›Millipedes
  5. ›Chilognathan Millipedes
  6. ›Worm-like Millipedes
  7. ›Eugnatha
  8. ›Merocheta
  9. ›Flat-backed Millipedes
  10. ›Leptodesmidea
  11. ›Xystodesmoidea
  12. ›Cherry Millipedes
  13. ›Parafontariinae
Train Millipedes
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Train Millipedes

Parafontaria

Parafontaria is a genus of "flat-backed" millipedes (order Polydesmida) consisting of 13 species native to Japan, where they are known as train millipedes. Some species exhibit periodical swarming behavior during which large numbers of individuals congregate and can sometimes slow or derail trains when they occur on tracks. Individuals vary from around 3.5 to 6 cm (1.4 to 2.4 in) as adults, and feed on leaf litter as well as soil, making them comparable to earthworms in facilitating...

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15 branches of this genus, most-observed first

Parafontaria tonominea

speciesParafontaria tonominea

Train Millipede

speciesParafontaria laminata

Parafontaria acutidens

speciesParafontaria acutidens

Parafontaria crenata

speciesParafontaria crenata

Parafontaria doenitzi

speciesParafontaria doenitzi

Parafontaria longa

speciesParafontaria longa

Parafontaria erythrosoma

speciesParafontaria erythrosoma

Parafontaria falcifera

speciesParafontaria falcifera

Parafontaria shiraiwaensis

speciesParafontaria shiraiwaensis

Parafontaria spathulata

speciesParafontaria spathulata

Parafontaria takakuwai

speciesParafontaria takakuwai

Parafontaria tokaiensis

speciesParafontaria tokaiensis

Parafontaria terminalis

speciesParafontaria terminalis

Parafontaria ishiii

speciesParafontaria ishiii

Parafontaria longispina

speciesParafontaria longispina

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Where it lives

Recorded sightings

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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.

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Every page naming Parafontaria in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →

This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 464274.