Motyxia
| Motyxia | |
|---|---|
| Motyxia sequoiae (Loomis & Davenport, 1951) photographed in its own light. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Myriapoda |
| Class: | Diplopoda |
| Order: | Polydesmida |
| Family: | Xystodesmidae |
| Tribe: | Xystocheirini |
| Genus: | Motyxia Chamberlin, 1941 |
| Type species | |
| Motyxia kerna Chamberlin, 1941 | |
| Species | |
|
M. alia | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Amplocheir Chamberlin, 1949 | |
Motyxia is a genus of cyanide-producing millipedes (collectively known as Sierra luminous millipedes or motyxias) that are endemic to the southern Sierra Nevada, Tehachapi, and Santa Monica mountain ranges of California. Motyxias are blind and produce the poison cyanide, like all members of the Polydesmida. All species have the ability to glow brightly: some of the few known instances of bioluminescence in millipedes.