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Cave Biology Data Portal
Subterranean biodiversity of North America and around the globe
AnimaliaArthropodaMyriapodaDiplopodaPolydesmidaPolydesmidaePolydesmus

European Sculpted Millipede
Polydesmus inconstans Latzel, 1884

Taxonomy

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Subphylum Myriapoda
Class Diplopoda
Order Polydesmida
Family Polydesmidae
Genus Polydesmus
Species Polydesmus inconstans Latzel, 1884

Description

Diagnostic characters

Ecological class
Accidental

Distribution

Range

Known from two counties across two states.

Continent

North America

Country

United States

States and provinces

Illinois, Pennsylvania

Counties

Illinois
Jo Daviess
Pennsylvania
York

Conservation and management

NatureServe

G4 Apparently Secure

G1G2G3G4▲G5

National ranks

Canada
NNA
United States
N4 Apparently Secure

Subnational ranks

Ontario
SNA Not Applicable
Prince Edward Island
SNA Not Applicable
Nova Scotia
SNA Not Applicable
Newfoundland and Labrador
SNA Not Applicable
British Columbia
SNA Not Applicable
Alberta
SNA Not Applicable
Montana
S4 Apparently Secure

State and federal status

Not listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act

References

  • Loomis, H.F. 1939. The millipeds collected in Appalachian caves by Mr. Kenneth Dearolf. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 86: 165–193. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2775893.
  • Peck, S.B. & Christiansen, K. 1990. Evolution and zoogeography of the invertebrate cave faunas of the Driftless Area of the upper Mississippi River Valley of Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois, U.S.A. Canadian Journal of Zoology 68: 73–88. doi:10.1139/z90-012

How to cite this account

Polydesmus inconstans Latzel, 1884. Cave Biology Data Portal, account SP-1939. https://cavebiology.org/species/polydesmus-inconstans/ (accessed 7 September 2026).

Data sources and funding are listed in the Acknowledgments.

Spotted something wrong on this page? Report a correction. Accounts are compiled from many sources and corrections from people who know the group are the most useful email we get.

Cave Biology Data Portal

Species accounts, distributions, and conservation status for the subterranean fauna of North America and around the globe, with resources for the cave and karst research community.

Text and data CC BY 4.0. Images all rights reserved unless stated.

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