Tachypodoiulus niger

Tachypodoiulus niger, known variously as the white-legged snake millipede or the black millipede, is a European species of millipede. 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.[2] It occurs in Ireland, Britain, Spain, France, Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and the Czech Republic,[1] and is especially common on chalky and limestone soils.[2]

Tachypodoiulus niger
T. niger walking over moss
T. niger in defensive posture
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Myriapoda
Class:	Diplopoda
Order:	Julida
Family:	Julidae
Genus:	Tachypodoiulus
Species:	T. niger
Binomial name
Tachypodoiulus niger (Leach, 1814) [1]

T. niger has a roughly cylindrical shiny black body, with around 100 pairs of contrasting white legs[3] on its 41–56 body segments.[2] It lives in leaf litter, under bark or in moss, and feeds on encrusting algae, detritus[3] and sometimes fruit such as raspberries.[2] Predators of T. niger include the centipedes Lithobius variegatus and Lithobius forficatus[3] and hedgehogs.[4]

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.[5] 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,[2] but it can also flee with sidewinding movements.[6]