Map and representative millipedes of Chile. a Chile in southwestern South America stretches from ~17°S to 56°S. b During the Pleistocene, a series of geological events (e.g. the uplift of the Andes) and climatic changes (e.g. the Last Glacial Maximum) shaped the Atacama Desert in the north (area shaded in light grey) and the Patagonian Ice Sheet in the south (area shaded in dark grey) in Chile. Since then, the Atacama Desert has favoured an arid climate at low latitudes while at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum the retreat of the Patagonian Ice Sheet set up a polar climate at high latitudes. The mid-latitudes of central Chile exhibit a temperate climate and acted as a refuge for biota during the occurrence of the historical contingencies described. c Examples of millipedes endemic to Chile. From top to bottom: Tsagonus aff. valdiviae Chamberlin, 1957; Siphonotus parguaensis Mauriès and Silva, 1971; Monenchodesmus inermis Silvestri, 1903 and Mikroporus granulatus Attems, 1898.