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Brachoria kentuckiana (Causey 1942)

The Cumberland Falls Mimic Millipede

Paul Marek
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Containing group: Brachoria

Characteristics

Brachoria kentuckiana individuals are about 46.7 mm long and 11.6 mm wide (females 48.1 mm X 10.9 mm).  Color: 3-spotted yellow (5Y 8.5/10, shown above), red (7.5R 6/12) or salmon (5R 5/12).

 

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Brachoria kentuckiana genitalia - left male gonopodal acropodite (with setae removed): (Left) medial view and (Right) magnified apical view. © Paul Marek

 

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Brachoria kentuckiana, 3-spotted red (7.5R 6/12) color morph. © Paul Marek

 

 

Habitat

Brachoria kentuckiana specimens were collected during the night (21:00) in a forest comprising hemlock, birch, and buckeye trees.  Individuals were found beneath layers of decomposing leaf material at the bottom of a small gully that runs into the Cumberland River about 120 m to the east. One other xystodesmid encountered sympatrically at this locality is Cherokia georgiana latassa, which appears similar in coloration to B. kentuckiana.

Distribution

Known only from the type locality in Whitley Co., Kentucky.  The closest known Brachoria species, B. divicuma, occurs about 18 air km northwest in Daniel Boone National Forest, Pulaski County, Kentucky.

Conservation status

Brachoria kentuckiana is threatened by habitat loss due to agriculture (especially growing demand for paper products), coal mining, development, and the invasion of exotic species.

References

Marek P.E. 2010. A revision of the Appalachian millipede genus Brachoria Chamberlin, 1939 (Polydesmida: Xystodesmidae: Apheloriini). Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 159: 817-889.

Causey NB. 1942. Six new diplopods of the family Xystodesmidae. Entomological News 53: 165-170.

Keeton W.T. 1959. A revision of the millipede genus Brachoria (Polydesmida: Xystodesmidae) Proc. US Nat. Mus. 109: 1-58.

Hoffman R.L. 1999. Checklist of the millipeds of North and Middle America. Virginia Museum of Natural History Special Publication. No. 8. Martinsville: Virginia Museum of Natural History.

Title Illustrations
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Scientific Name Brachoria kentuckiana
Location USA, Kentucky, Whitley Co.
Reference Marek P.E. 2010. A revision of the Appalachian millipede genus Brachoria Chamberlin, 1939 (Polydesmida: Xystodesmidae: Apheloriini). Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 159: 817-889.
Specimen Condition Live Specimen
Sex m
Life Cycle Stage adult
View dorsal
Collection FMNH
Collector Paul Marek
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0.
Copyright © Paul Marek
About This Page
Work on the millipede Tree of Life pages was supported by a U.S. National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant to Paul Marek and Jason Bond (DEB 0607996) and a Partnerships for Enhancing Expertise in Taxonomy Grant to Petra Sierwald, Jason Bond, and William Shear (DEB 0529715).

Paul Marek
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Correspondence regarding this page should be directed to Paul Marek at

Page: Tree of Life Brachoria kentuckiana (Causey 1942). The Cumberland Falls Mimic Millipede. Authored by Paul Marek. The TEXT of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0. Note that images and other media featured on this page are each governed by their own license, and they may or may not be available for reuse. Click on an image or a media link to access the media data window, which provides the relevant licensing information. For the general terms and conditions of ToL material reuse and redistribution, please see the Tree of Life Copyright Policies.

Citing this page:

Marek, Paul. 2010. Brachoria kentuckiana (Causey 1942). The Cumberland Falls Mimic Millipede. Version 16 September 2010 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Brachoria_kentuckiana/144226/2010.09.16 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

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