Parafontaria

Parafontaria is a genus of "flat-backed" millipedes (order Polydesmida) consisting of 14 species native to Japan and Korea.^[1][2] Parafontaria laminata armigera, formerly called train millipedes, has been synonymized with P. laminata.^[1] This is because some populations exhibit periodical swarming behavior during which large numbers congregate and can impact train passage when this congregation occurs on tracks. Documentation of this event goes back to 1920.^[3] Individuals vary from around 3.5 to 6 cm (1.4 to 2.4 in) as adults, and feed on leaf litter as well as soil, making them comparable to earthworms in facilitating decomposition and soil nutrient cycling.^[4][5]

Parafontaria
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Myriapoda
Class:	Diplopoda
Order:	Polydesmida
Family:	Xystodesmidae
Subfamily:	Xystodesminae
Tribe:	Parafontariini Hoffman, 1978
Genus:	Parafontaria Verhoeff, 1936
Species
See text
Synonyms
Japonaria Attems, 1938 Grayaria Chamberlin, 1943

Species

• Parafontaria crenata Shinohara, 1986
• Parafontaria doenitzi (Karsch, 1880)
• Parafontaria erythrosoma (Takakuwa, 1942)
• Parafontaria falcifera (Verhoeff, 1936)
• Parafontaria ishiii Shinohara, 1986
• Parafontaria koreana (Paik, 1963)
• Parafontaria laminata (Attems, 1909)^[6][7] This species is poisonous.^[8]
• Parafontaria longa Shinohara, 1986
• Parafontaria shiraiwaensis Shinohara, 1986
• Parafontaria spathulata (Miyosi, 1951)
• Parafontaria takakuwai (Shinohara in Takashima & Shinohara, 1957)
• Parafontaria terminalis (Takakuwa, 1942)
• Parafontaria tokaiensis Tanabe, 2002
• Parafontaria tonominea (Attems, 1899)