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First recorded introduction of the milliped order Stemmiulida (Eugnatha: Nematophora): Potential establishment in Florida, USA, and new records from Mexico; northward range extension into southern Tamaulipas

Rowland M. Shelley; G. B. Edwards; Arthur E. Bogan — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 12:52:49 +0200

Based on two “uni-ocellate” females, the world’s first introductions of the milliped order Stemmiulida are recorded from Florida, United States (US). One individual was collected in 1976 in Gainesville, Alachua County (Co.)., in northcentral peninsular Florida, and the other was taken in 1991 some 408 km (255 mi) to the south-southeast in Pompano Beach, Broward Co. The absence of further individuals and additional samples suggests that the introductions did not result in viable populations, and stemmiulidans are not presently established in the state; the Gainesville site was reinvestigated in 2012 without finding additional specimens. New records from Mexico include the first from Chiapas, Oaxaca, Tabasco, Yucatan, San Luis Potosí, and Tamaulipas states, with the northernmost ordinal locality now becoming Rancho del Cielo, northwest of Gómez Farias, in the last. A northward range expansion of about 460 km (288 mi) from the previous limit, Xalapa, Veracruz, the site lies a mere 40 km (25 mi) south of the Tropic of Cancer and only some 320 km (200 mi) south of the Rio Grande and the US border at McAllen, Hidalgo Co., Texas. Indigenous Stemmiulida are not expected in the forested Rio Grande Valley of southernmost Texas, but their occurrence in the adjoining Mexican state renders such a discovery more plausible than before.

Millipeds from the eastern Dakotas and western Minnesota, USA, with an account of Pseudopolydesmus serratus (Say, 1821) (Polydesmida: Polydesmidae); first published records from six states and the District of Columbia

Rowland M. Shelley; Bruce A. Snyder — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 13:51:07 +0200

The diplopod orders Callipodida and Polydesmida, and their respective families Abacionidae and Xystodesmidae, are initially recorded from South Dakota as is Polydesmidae from North Dakota. Other new records of indigenous taxa include Abacion Rafinesque, 1820/A. texense (Loomis, 1937) and Pleuroloma/P. flavipes, both by Rafinesque, 1820, from South Dakota, and Pseudopolydesmus Attems, 1898/P. serratus (Say, 1821) from Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Carolina, and the District of Columbia. New records of Aniulus garius Chamberlin, 1912, A. (Hakiulus) d. diversifrons (Wood, 1867), and Oriulus venustus (Wood, 1864) (Julida: Parajulidae) are provided for western Minnesota and/or eastern North Dakota. Published records from these states are summarized, and the introduced taxa, Julidae/Cylindroiulus Verhoeff, 1894/C. caeruleocinctus (Wood, 1864) and Paradoxosomatidae/Oxidus Cook, 1911/O. gracilis (C. L. Koch, 1847), are newly recorded from the Dakotas. The distribution of P. serratus, which extends from Maine to South Carolina and the Florida panhandle, west to Texas, and north to Fargo, North Dakota is described and discussed. This distribution exhibits a prominent southeastern lacuna which we hypothesize suggests replacement by younger, more successful species, as postulated for a similar distributional gap in Scytonotus granulatus (Say, 1821).

A third locality for the milliped Mitocybe auriportae Cook and Loomis, 1928 (Platydesmida: Andrognathidae)

Rowland M. Shelley — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 12:51:33 +0200

With the discovery of Mitocybe auriportae Cook and Loomis, 1928 (Platydesmida: Andrognathidae) in Alameda County (Co.), east of San Francisco Bay, a potential overall distribution in coastal California is projected based on those of partly congruent diplopods. The area extends from northern Mendocino to central Monterey cos. and inland to central Lake, Yolo, and Santa Clara cos.

Centipedes and Millipeds (Arthropoda: Diplopoda, Chilopoda) from Saba Island, Lesser Antilles, and a Consolidation of Major References on the Myriapod Fauna of “Lesser” Caribbean Islands

Rowland M. Shelley; Derek S. Sikes — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 12:49:43 +0200

The chilopod, Cryptops hortensis (Donovan, 1810) (Scolopendromorpha: Cryptopidae), and the diplopods, Pseudospirobolellus avernus (Butler, 1876) (Spirobolida: Pseudospirobolellidae) and Oxidus gracilis (C. L. Koch, 1847) (Polydesmida: Paradoxosomatidae), are newly recorded from Saba Island, Lesser Antilles, which also harbors one additional scolopendromorph and four more chilognath millipeds. Except for the plausibly native scolopendrid centipede, Scolopendra alternans Leach, 1813, all are human introductions. Concentrated sampling is needed in the cloud/elfin forest atop Mt. Scenery, where indigenous millipeds may reside, and with extraction techniques throughout the island, to potentially document the diplopod subclass Penicillata. Nine small Caribbean islands in addition to Saba have been incorrectly reported as lacking diplopod records because publications citing them were overlooked by past authors. Works documenting myriapods from small Caribbean islands are consolidated.

The milliped genus Euryurus Koch, 1847 (Polydesmida: Euryuridae) west of the Mississippi River; occurrence of E. leachii (Gray, 1832) on Crowley’s Ridge, Arkansas

Rowland M. Shelley; Chris T. McAllistor; Henry W. Robinson — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 15:20:22 +0200

The milliped genus Euryurus Koch, 1847, and the species, E. leachii (Gray, 1832) (Polydesmida: Euryuridae), are recorded from three sites on the northern part of Crowley’s Ridge (Cross, Lee, and Poinsett counties), Arkansas, where the only prior familial records are of Auturus evides (Bollman, 1887). Coupled with the published locality of E. leachii in Phillips Co., at the southern extremity of the Ridge, the only known occurrences of both the genus and species in Arkansas and west of the Mississippi River are in this physiographic feature. The Arkansas population is geographically peripheral but anatomically intermediate between the two recognized subspecies, E. l. leachii and E. l. fraternus Hoffman, 1978, and we do not assign it to a race. Molecular investigations seem necessary to resolve relationships in the “E. leachii complex.”

Annotated checklist of the millipeds of Florida (Arthropoda: Diplopoda)

Rowland M. Shelley — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 13:21:19 +0100

The milliped fauna of Florida consists of 8 orders, 18 families, 34 genera, and 51 species and subspecies; it comprises six elements: widespread species occurring widely in Florida, northern species reaching their southern limits in north Florida, neotropical species occurring naturally in Florida or adventive there, oriental adventives, Florida endemics, and southeastern endemics. A complete listing of these taxa is provided, with published and new records from the state, synonyms, and type localities. Georgiulus paynei Hoffman, Cleidogona alata Causey, and Pseudopolydesmus serratus (Say) are newly recorded from the state, and Eurymerodesmus serratus Shelley is deleted; Pseudojulus obtectus (Bollman) is recorded from Alabama.

Occurrence of the milliped Pachydesmus crassicutis adsinicolus Hoffman in Florida (Polydesmida: Xystodesmidae)

Rowland M. Shelley — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 13:21:19 +0100

Occurrence of the milliped Pachydesmus crassicutis adsinicolus Hoffman in Florida (Polydesmida: Xystodesmidae)

Narceus woodruffi Causey, a forgotten milliped species (Spirobolida: Spirobolidae)

Rowland M. Shelley — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 13:21:19 +0100

Previous treatments ofthe east-Nearctic spirobolid genus Narceus Rafinesque have overlooked the name, N. woodruffi Causey. The holotype is lost, but examinations of a non-typical male and two paratype and three non-typical females show it to be a valid species, perhaps endemic to north Florida, distinguished by its small size and the configurations of the gonopods and coxal lobes of legs 3-6 in males. Supplemental anatomical notes are presented on the non-typical male along with comparative drawings of the lobes and gonopods of N. woodruffi, N. american us (Beauvois), and N. annularis (Rafinesque); distributions of species of Narceus in Florida are depicted on a map. Substantial size differences between ostensibly conspecific males of N. american us in Texas and Arkansas suggest that Narceus may be more complex than the current concept of four species.

Parajulid milliped studies V. The genera Pseudojulus Bollman and Arvechambus Causey (Parajulinae: Aniulini)

Rowland M. Shelley — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 13:21:19 +0100

The parajulid milliped genus Pseudojulus Bollman comprises four species: P. obtectus (Bollman), P.paynei (Hoffman), n. comb., andP. carolinensis andP. coastalis, new species; Arvechambus Causey comprises two species, A. hummi and A. weemsi, both by Causey. Georgiulus Hoffman is placed in synonymy under Fseudojulus; G. hubrichti Hoffman is placed under P. pay/wi; andA. australis Causey is placed under A. hummi. The genera are sympatric in north Florida and southern Georgia, but Pseudojulus extends northward to coastal South Carolina and southcentral North Carolina, and westward to Alabama west of Mobile Bay. Both genera belong to the Aniulini and possess unique features; in Pseudojulus the anterior gonopod coxae are fused into a "shelf' on the dorsal surface ofthe complex that extends ventrad along the caudal margin and possesses a pair of posterior median syncoxallobes or laminas of varying lengths and configurations. Arvechambus exhibits a suite of apomorphies and is sister to the rest of the tribe collectively: the 8th sternum possesses elevated lateral lobes that overhang the sides ofthe gonopodal aperture; the 7th pleurotergite possesses lobes that also overlie the sides of the aperture; the anterior gonopods lack lateral syncoxal processes, the coxal lobes, much larger than in other tribal genera, arise laterad and obscure part of the telopodite in anterior view, and the telopodite is elongate rather than clavate; and the 2nd pleurotergite in females possesses lobes that overhang and effectively close the cyphopodal aperture.

The first vouchered milliped records for Prince Edward Island and additional new records from the Maritime Provinces of Canada (Arthropoda: Diplopoda)

Rowland M. Shelley; Mary E. Smith — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 01:24:51 +0000

Four milliped species, substantiated by preserved voucher samples, are reported from Prince Edward Island, Canada. All are introduced European species that now occur widely in both Canada and the United States, and the panglobal Asian paradoxosomatid, Oxidus gracilis (C. L. Koch, 1847), is listed as probable. Choneiulus palmatus (Némec, 1895) (Julida: Blaniulidae) is newly recorded from New Brunswick, and four representatives of the Julidae are cited from Nova Scotia. Discovery of Cylindroiulus punctatus (Leach, 1815) (Julidae) in this province constitutes the second record from both Canada and North America, the other being in Newfoundland.

The Milliped order Glomeridesmida (Diplopoda: Pentazonia: Limacomorpha) in Oceania, the East Indies, and southeastern Asia; first records from Palau, the Philippines, Vanuatu, New Britain, the Island of New Guinea, Cambodia, Thailand, and Borneo and Sulawesi, Indonesia

Rowland M. Shelley — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 04:50:22 +0000

The taxonomically neglected milliped order Glomeridesmida and family Glomeridesmidae (infraclass Pentazonia, superorder Limacomorpha) inhabit 21, rather than seven, regions of the world, being newly recorded from Thailand; Cambodia; the Republics of Palau, the Philippines, and Vanuatu; New Britain, Bismarck Archipelago; the Island of New Guinea (both West Papua [formerly Irian Jaya], Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea); and Sulawesi and Borneo, Indonesia. Occurrence in Fiji is confirmed with two additional samples, and discovery is predicted in southern China, Myanmar, and perhaps Madagascar. Coupled with published localities, these records suggest subcontinuous (super)ordinal and familial ranges extending some 12,480 km (7,800 mi) southeastward from northwestern Thailand to Fiji. Though infrequently encountered, the taxa may actually be diverse and abundant within this area, which encompasses all of the Indochina and Malay peninsulas, the Philippines, Palau, the Island of Borneo and Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon and Santa Cruz Islands, Vanuatu, and Fiji; it excludes Taiwan, Australia, New Caledonia, and the Loyalty Islands. The paucity of preserved individuals probably results from their dark pigmentations and minute sizes, adults being <6.5 mm long; Berlese extractions and sieved litter techniques are recommended over hand collecting. Glomeridesmida are much more continuous, widespread, and abundant in the “east” than previously believed and clearly do not comprise a minor, insignificant taxon. The first glomeridesmidan photos are published.

Distribution of the American milliped genus Boraria Chamberlin, 1943: Introductions of B. stricta (Brölemann, 1896) in New York and B. infesta (Chamberlin, 1918) in Connecticut; indigenous occurrence of B. profuga (Causey, 1955) in Louisiana (Diplopoda: Polydesmida: Xystodesmidae).

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 04:45:41 +0000

The southern Appalachian millipeds Boraria stricta (Brölemann, 1896) and B. infesta (Chamberlin, 1918) (Diplopoda: Polydesmida: Xystodesmidae) have become established in Westchester Co., New York, and Hartford Co., Connecticut, respectively. Only three individuals are available for the latter, but B. stricta has established a reproducing population in southern New York state. This species is also recorded from Bland Co., Virginia, in the Ridge and Valley Physiographic Province. Boraria profuga (Causey, 1955) comprises two allopatric populations, one in Montgomery Co., Arkansas, and the other in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana. Distributional records and gonopod drawings are presented for these species plus B. deturkiana (Causey, 1942).

Are-evaluation of the milliped genus Motyxia Chamberlin, with a re-diagnosis of the tribe Xystocheirini and remarks on the bioluminescence (Polydesmida: Xystodesmidae)

Rowland M. Shelley — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 17:42:01 +0200

Motyxia Chamberlin is comprised of eight species of bioluminescent xystocheirine millipeds in which the gonopodal solenomere arises at different positions, from basally and subbasally on the acropodite to being fused with the companion acropodal branch and detaching proximad or near midlength. Previous synonymies ofAmplocheir Chamberlin and LuminodeslnllS Loomis and Davenport under Motyxia are confirmed as is its assignment to the tribe Xystocheirini, which is redefined. Component species are 111. Iwnw Chamberlin, the type species, monica Chamberlin, sequoiae (Loomis and Davenport), tularea (Chamberlin), sequoia (Chamberlin), pior Chamberlin, porrecta Causey and Tiemann, and tiemanni Causey. Motyxia sequoia is comprised oftwo races, the nominate and sequoia alia Causey and Tiemann; sequoia ollae Causey and Tiemann is properly a subspecies of tularea.1I1otyxiapiorform secea is an invalid name without standing in nomenclature, and M. tejona Chamberlin, andM. expansa and exilis, both by Loomis, are placed in synonymy under M. monica, the oldest name for the southernmost species, as Polydesllws dissectus Wood is referrable to Xystocheir Cook. The bioluminescence is a continuous, neon-white glow of the entire dorsal surface including the antennae and legs.Its visibility at night suggests a warning function analogous to aposematic coloration. The phenomenon may observe a circadian rhythm, and controlled photoperiod experimentation may be productive.

Atlas of myriapod biogeography. I. Indigenous ordinal and supra-ordinal distributions in the Diplopoda: Perspectives on taxon origins and ages, and a hypothesis on the origin and early evolution of the class

Rowland M. Shelley; Sergei I. Golovatch — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 15:30:52 +0200

The biogeographic significance of Diplopoda is substantiated by 50 maps documenting indigenous occurrences of the 16 orders, the three Spirostreptida s. l. suborders – Cambalidea, Epinannolenidea, Spirostreptidea – and all higher taxa including Diplopoda itself. The class is indigenous to all continents except Antarctica and islands/archipelagos in all temperate and tropical seas and oceans except the Arctic; it ranges from Kodiak Island and the northern Alaskan Panhandle, United States (USA), southern Hudson Bay, Canada, and near or north of the Arctic Circle in Iceland, continental Scandinavia, and Siberia to southern “mainland” Argentina, the southern tips of Africa and Tasmania, and Campbell Island, subantarctic New Zealand. The vast, global distribution is interrupted by sizeable, poorly- or unsampled areas including the Great Basin, USA; the Atacama Desert region of Chile and neighboring countries; southern South American islands; the central Kalahari and Sahara deserts; the Gobi Desert, Mongolia, and all of north-central and western China; from north of the Caspian Sea, Russia, to central Kazakhstan; and the “Outback” of central Australia. Five Arabian countries lack both samples and published records of indigenous diplopods – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and United Arab Emirates – as do Turks and Caicos, in the New World, and Mauritania and possibly Egypt, Africa. New records, including the first for Chilognatha from Botswana and the first specific localities from Northern Territory, Australia, are cited in the Appendix. Increased emphasis on mappings in taxonomic research is warranted along with investigations of insular “species swarms” that constitute a microcosm of the early evolution of the class. The largest “species swarm” in the Diplopoda is Diplopoda itself!

Occurrence of the milliped Ergodesmus compactus Chamberlin in Canada (Polydesmida: Nearctodesmidae)

Carl L. Whitney; Rowland M. Shelley — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:36:04 +0200

Recent collecting in southcentral British Columbia, near the International Border, has confirmed the Canadian occurrence of the milliped Ergodesmus compactus Chamberlin, which was predicted by field work in the adjacent part of the United States. With Nearctodesmus insulanus (Chamberlin) occupying the Shuswap Highlands and the Pacific Coastal region, the Nearctodesmidae is known from three separate regions of Canada, all in British Columbia. Other millipeds in the northwestern United States that may be reasonably anticipated in western Canada are discussed.

The milliped genus Orophe Chamberlin (Polydesmida: Xystodesmidae)

Rowland M. Shelley — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:09:17 +0200

The milliped genus Orophe, characterized by long, twisted gonopodal telopodites with short subequal distal elements, is comprised of two allopatric species.

Distribution of the centipede Scolopocryptops sexspinosus (Say) in Alaska and Canada (Scolopendromorpha: Cryptopidae)

Rowland M. Shelley — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:04:57 +0200

Specific Alaskan and Canadian localities are recorded for the chilopod Scolopocryptops sexspinosus (Say) (Cryptopidae), the only indigenous Nearctic scolopendromorph species occurring north of the lower 48 states. It occurs west of the crest of the Coast Range in British Columbia, extending northward to the southernmost islands of Alaska, and is recorded for the first time from eastern Canada, from Niagara Gorge, Ontario. Reports of S. rubiginosus Koch from southern Alaska are based on a misidentification of S. sexspinosus, and records from the north-central United States are too distant from the international border for it to be plausible for Manitoba and western Ontario. This centipede does not occur along the Pacific Coast and is improbable for any other part of Canada.

Occurrence of the milliped, Stenodesmus tuobitus (Chamberlin), west of the Rio Grande (Polydesmida: Xystodesmidae)

Rowland M. Shelley — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 13:59:01 +0200

New records of the xystodesmid diplopod Stenodesmus tuobitus (Chamberlin) extend its range and those of the family and suborder Chelodesmidea into southwestern New Mexico, west of the Rio Grande. They confirm that it inhabits arid juniper environments at relatively low elevations as well as moist deciduous fir forests at high elevations, thereby lending credence to past records from the former habitat in Lincoln County. Discovery of the milliped in neighboring mountain ranges to the north and west is now likely, with the distant possibility that it may occur in eastern Arizona.

Distribution of Abacion texense (Loomis, 1937), the only milliped species traversing the Rio Grande, Mississippi, and Pecos rivers (Callipodida: Abacionidae)

Chris T. McAllister; Rowland M. Shelley — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 09:50:17 +0200

Localities are documented for the milliped Abacion texense (Loomis, 1837) (Callipodida: Abacionidae) whose distribution forms both the northern and southern ordinal limits in the Western Hemisphere. The westernmost component of Abacion Rafinesque, 1820, A. texense is the only milliped species whose range spans the Mississippi and Pecos rivers and the Rio Grande. Distribution extremes are in Hennepin County (Co.), Minnesota, in the north; Terrell and Potter cos., Texas, in the west; Alcorn Co., Mississippi, in the east; and southwestern Tamaulipas, Mexico, in the south. Occurrences are projected for southeastern South Dakota, northwestern Alabama, and the southwestern periphery of Tennessee. The type series of A. texense consists solely of the male holotype, so a neotype will be needed if this individual is ever lost, because no paratypes were officially designated.

Occurrence of the milliped, Hiltonius carpinus carpinus Chamberlin, 1943 (Spirobolida: Spirobolidae), in the United States and new records from Mexico

Rowland M. Shelley — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:18:34 +0100

The milliped family Tingupidae (Chordeumatida) on Kodiak Island, Alaska, USA, a geographically remote record of indigenous Diplopoda

Rowland M. Shelley; Michael F. Medrano; Kristiina Ovaska — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:27:29 +0100

With documentation of an unidentifiable adult female and juvenile Tingupidae (Chordeumatida), Kodiak Island, Alaska, becomes the westernmost indigenous diplopod locality in North America including continental islands. The northernmost and most proximate locality, Yakutat, lies ca. 935 mi (1,496 km) to the eastnortheast, while Haines, the type locality of Tingupa tlingitorum Shear and Shelley, some 1,196 mi (1,914 km) in this direction, is the most proximate familial site. Kodiak is also one of the most remote indigenous milliped localities in the Pacific, the most proximate ones to the west and south, Kamchatka, Russia, and the Hawaiian Islands, United States, being over 3,300 mi (5, 280 km) distant. Tingupidae is recorded for the first time from Canada excluding the Queen Charlotte Islands, and geographically remote, ostensibly indigenous records from the North Pacific Ocean and environs are tabulated.

The milliped families Spirostreptidae (Spirostreptida) and Paradoxosomatidae (Polydesmida) in the Middle East; first records of the Diplopoda from Saudi Arabia

Rowland M. Shelley — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:36:04 +0100

The class Diplopoda, represented by the families Spirostreptidae (Spirostreptida) and Paradoxosomatidae (Polydesmida), is recorded from Saudi Arabia for the first time. Archispirostreptus transmarinus Hoffman, 1965 (Spirostreptidae) inhabits the Jabal Al-Hijaz Mountains in the southwest, and the Paradoxosomatidae, represented by an unidentifiable, indigenous female, occurs in a “wadi” in the center of the country. Other Middle Eastern familial records are documented, and occurrences in the Arabian Peninsula are mapped. Males, necessary to identify the paradoxosomatid, may be encountered if samplings are timed to coincide with seasonal rains.

Distribution extensions of the milliped families Conotylidae and Rhiscosomididae (Diplopoda: Chordeumatida) into northern coastal British Columbia and Southern Alaska

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 14:59:57 +0100

Two samples of the chordeumatidan family Rhiscosomididae (Rhiscosomides mineri Silvestri, 1909) and 35 of the Conotylidae establish these taxa in the Alexander Archipelago and continental parts of the Alaskan Panhandle, USA, and northern coastal British Columbia (BC), Canada. Rhiscosomides mineri is also recorded from southwestern BC and, for the first time, from Washington State, USA. Two conotylids were recovered, a juvenile male of ?Bollmanella Chamberlin, 1941, and 3 males and 33 females of a possibly parthenogenetic form of Taiyutyla Chamberlin, 1952, conforming generally to T. shawi and T. lupus, both by Shear, 2004, on Vancouver Island. Diplopoda are predicted to inhabit the southern Yukon Territory.