Under Construction

Brachoria sheari Marek 2010

Shear’s Mimic Millipede

Paul Marek
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Containing group: Brachoria

Characteristics

Brachoria sheari individuals are about 46.4 mm long and 11.1 mm wide (females 46.8 mm X 11.4 mm).  Color: 3-spotted yellow (10YR 3/14, shown above) or red (8.5R 5/14, rare, shown above); and 4-spotted yellow (i.e., with paranotal, metatergal, and prozonal spots).

 

Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

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

 

Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

Brachoria sheari, 3-spotted yellow color morph with very faint medial metatergal spots. © Paul Marek

 

Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

Brachoria sheari, 4-spotted yellow color morph. © Paul Marek

 

 

Habitat

Brachoria sheari specimens were collected during the day (12:06) in a forest comprising maple, sycamore, dogwood, oak, and buckeye trees.  Individuals were found beneath layers of decomposing leaf material at the bottom of a dry streambed just east of the trail.  Other xystodesmids encountered sympatrically at these localities are Brachoria cedra, B. dentata, and Apheloria virginiensis corrugata.  Note: Individuals of B. sheari may easily be confused in the field with B. cedra, B. dentata, and A. virginiensis corrugata due to very strong similarity in color patterns.

Distribution

Known only from four localities on Cumberland Mountain: two sites very close to each other on the Virginia side (in Lee Co.) of the mountain at its base, one from the Ridge Trail on top of the mountain, and another on the Kentucky side of the mountain near Shillalah Creek (Bell Co., Kentucky).  The closest known Brachoria species, B. cedra and B. dentata, co-occur with B. sheari and share a strong mimetic resemblance.  This species was provisionally referred to as Brachoria species “n” in Marek and Bond (2009).

Conservation status

Brachoria sheari 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.

Marek P.E., Bond J.E. 2009. A Müllerian mimicry ring in Appalachian millipedes. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 106: 9755-9760.

Title Illustrations
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Scientific Name Brachoria sheari
Location USA, Virginia, Lee 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
Type holotype
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
Scientific Name Brachoria sheari
Location USA, Virginia, Lee 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 f
Life Cycle Stage adult
View dorsal
Collection FMNH
Type paratype
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 sheari Marek 2010. Shear’s 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 sheari Marek 2010. Shear’s Mimic Millipede. Version 16 September 2010 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Brachoria_sheari/144812/2010.09.16 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

edit this page
close box

This page is a Tree of Life Leaf Page.

Each ToL leaf page provides a synopsis of the characteristics of a group of organisms representing a leaf at the tip of the Tree of Life. The major distinction between a leaf and a branch of the Tree of Life is that a leaf cannot generally be further subdivided into subgroups representing distinct genetic lineages.

For a more detailed explanation of the different ToL page types, have a look at the Structure of the Tree of Life page.

close box

Brachoria sheari

Page Content

articles & notes

collections

people

Explore Other Groups

random page

  go to the Tree of Life home page
top