Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Photo#11499
Polyzoniida - Petaserpes strictus

Polyzoniida - Petaserpes strictus
Fort Bragg, Cumberland County, North Carolina, USA
November 21, 2003
Sorry about the focus...just moved too quickly...then got away. Again, from description in Golden Guide Spiders and their kin. I am guessing this is the Polyzonium bikermani.

Moved
Moved from Polyzoniida.

Petaserpes
This millipede is Petaserpes strictus (Shelley, 1976) (Polyzoniida: Polyzoniidae); it used to be in the genus Polyzonium, which is now restricted to forms in Europe. Petaserpes bikermani (Causey) occurs in Arkansas. All representatives of the genus Petaserpes produce a terpenoid defensive secretion that smells like camphor. The millipedes are secretive and occur in wet leaves; on several occasions I have actually smelled the "camphor" aroma before I uncovered the millipedes.