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.[1] It occurs in Ireland, Britain, Spain, France, Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and the Czech Republic, and is especially common on chalky and limestone soils.[1]
T. niger has a roughly cylindrical shiny black body, with around 100 pairs of contrasting white legs[2] on its 41–56 body segments.[1] It lives in leaf litter, under bark or in moss, and feeds on encrusting algae, detritus[2] and sometimes fruit such as raspberries.[1] Predators of T. niger include the centipedes Lithobius variegatus and Lithobius forficatus[2] and hedgehogs.[3]
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.[4] 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,[1] but it can also flee with sidewinding movements.[5]