---
title: "Desert Millipede"
description: "Orthoporus ornatus — Altri animali. Orthoporus ornatus (also known as the desert millipede) is a North American species of millipede in the family Spirostreptidae that can be found in the U.S."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/it/animal/desert-millipede
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Desert Millipede

> Orthoporus ornatus — Altri animali. Orthoporus ornatus (also known as the desert millipede) is a North American species of millipede in the family Spirostreptidae that can be found in the U.S.

- Scientific name: *Orthoporus ornatus*
- Category: `other` (Altri animali)
- Habitats: `zoo` (Zoo e animali domestici), `desert` (Deserto)
- iNaturalist observations: 6407
- Wikidata: [Q3719389](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3719389)
- iNaturalist taxon: [308059](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/308059)

## Names

- en: Desert Millipede
- es: Milpiés del desierto

## Countries with the most observations

US (4254), MX (415)

## Summary

Orthoporus ornatus (also known as the desert millipede) is a North American species of millipede in the family Spirostreptidae that can be found in the U.S. states of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, and as far south as the Mexican state of San Luis Potosí. They became very popular in the pet trade and many were exported to Western Europe. Brian Van Der Kieft and Max Prins were the first breeders of this species in Europe. Individuals on average are 4 inches (10 cm) in length, but can either be as small as 3 inches (76 mm), or exceed up to 9 inches (230 mm) in length. They are dark brownish coloured, but can sometimes…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthoporus_ornatus

## Photo

![Desert Millipede](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/desert-millipede/medium.jpg)

Photo: dbugs · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/302751017

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/desert-millipede?lang=it` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).