''Nyssodesmus python'' also known as the python millipede or large forest-floor millipede is a species of

flat-backed millipede Polydesmida (from the Greek ''poly'' "many" and ''desmos'' "bond") is the largest order of millipedes, containing approximately 3,500 species, including all the millipedes reported to produce hydrogen cyanide (HCN). Description Members of the or ...

of the family

Platyrhacidae Platyrhacidae is a family of polydesmidan millipedes distributed in Southeast Asia and tropical Central and South America. Description Platyrhacids are often large and colorful. They can be distinguished from most other polydesmidans by having o ...

commonly found in Costa Rica, where it occurs widely and is locally abundant in the Caribbean slopes from sea level to around 365 meters (1,200 feet) in elevation. p. 379 Individuals reach lengths of up to 10 cm (4 in), and are conspicuously colored in yellowish tan with brown or black stripes. Their appearance is sometimes likened to a human spine. These millipedes are often encountered in pairs, with the male straddling the back of the female long after mating, to prevent other males from fertilizing the female's eggs before she lays them.

References

Polydesmida Animals described in 1864 Taxa named by Wilhelm Peters Millipedes of Central America {{Myriapoda-stub