[1] The family Xystodesmidae was created by the American biologist Orator F. Cook in 1895 and named after the genus Xystodesmus.

[5] Millipedes in this family are found across the northern hemisphere, with peak diversity in the Appalachian Mountains, where one-third of the 300 or so species occur.

[4] They are particularly abundant in deciduous broadleaf forests in the Mediterranean Basin, Africa, Asia, Central and North America, and Russia.

[1] This family contains many colorful and distinctive species, including Apheloria virginiensis of the eastern U.S. and Harpaphe haydeniana of the western U.S.

The Sierra luminous millipedes of the genus Motyxia exhibit the only known examples of bioluminescence in the Polydesmida.