Polyxenus lagurus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Short, Megan & Vahtera, Varpu, 2017, Phylogenetic relationships of millipedes in the subclass Penicillata (Diplopoda) with a key to the genera, Journal of Natural History 51 (41 - 42), pp. 2443-2461 : 2455

Polyxenus lagurus

This species is very widespread across USA and Europe with a population also found in Melbourne, Australia. None of the analyses has detected differences between thelytokous and bisexual populations or between populations on different continents. Although Condé (1996) suggested the species had a palaeoarctic distribution it is probable the species is of European origin with a high dispersive ability, transported to North America and Australia with human assistance. The Melbourne population lacks males, indicating that its spread may have been facilitated by the ability of the species to reproduce parthenogenetically. The sequence identified as P. fasciculatus in GenBank appears highly likely to be from P. lagurus .