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Brachoria insolita Keeton 1959

The High Knob Mimic Millipede

Paul Marek
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Containing group: Brachoria

Characteristics

Brachoria insolita individuals are about 42.1 mm long and 9.3 mm wide (females 45.3 mm X 10.6 mm).  Color: 3-spotted yellow (shown above), orange (rare) or red (rare).

 

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

 

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Brachoria insolita, 3-spotted red color morph. © Paul Marek

 

 

Habitat

Brachoria insolita individuals have been collected in Appalachian mixed mesophytic deciduous forests comprising predominately maple and tulip poplars.  Individuals were found beneath layers of decomposing leaf material. Many other xystodesmids co-occur with B. insolita.  Note: Individuals of B. insolita may easily be confused in the field with Apheloria virginiensis corrugata, B. cedra, B. dentata and B. hoffmani due to similarity in color patterns (around High Knob all of these species can be found as mimics).

Distribution

Brachoria insolita is only known from about five localities in two counties in Virginia, Norton City and Wise.  Brachoria insolita occurs in the Stone Mountain highlands where it co-occurs with B. cedra, B. dentata, and B. hoffmani forming a component of a Müllerian mimicry ring with them.

Conservation status

Brachoria insolita 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.

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 insolita
Location USA, Virginia, Wise 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 insolita Keeton 1959. The High Knob 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 insolita Keeton 1959. The High Knob Mimic Millipede. Version 16 September 2010 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Brachoria_insolita/144225/2010.09.16 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

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