Dragon millipedes recently collected in southern Thailand exhibited a unique morphological trait: alternating long and short legs on each diplosegment (heteropody), a feature previously unseen in the family Paradoxosomatidae. Phylogenetic analyses using morphology and genetic data strongly support the monophyly of all dragon millipede genera. The new specimens form a distinctly separate clade for which we establish a new monotypic genus, Alternaxytes, characterised by unique gonopodal features and heteropodous legs, which are an example of convergent evolution within millipedes. (Photographs and image credit: Ruttapon Srisonchai.)