''Californiulus yosemitensis'' is a species of cylindrical millipede in the family

Paeromopodidae Paeromopodidae is a family of large cylindrical millipedes of the order Julida native to the western United States of America. The family contains two genera and ten species and includes the longest millipedes in North America, with individuals r ...

that is found in western North America: predominantly in the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

but also extending into southeastern

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

and parts of

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

Description

Adult ''C. yosemitensis'' reach lengths of up to and up to 80 body segments. The species is characterized by a broad yellow or orange dorsal band that extends from the collum (first body segment) to the

telson The telson () is the posterior-most division of the body of an arthropod. Depending on the definition, the telson is either considered to be the final segment of the arthropod body, or an additional division that is not a true segment on accou ...

, with a bold black stripe down the middle of the band. The base body color is black. The simple eyes ( ocelli) are arranged in patches on each side of the head, each patch consists of four rows of ocelli.

Distribution

''Californiulus yosemitensis'' occurs from extreme southwest Oregon to Kern County, California, with populations in the Warner Mountains,

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

, and

. It is the most widespread species of '' Californiulus'' and is common throughout its range.

Ecology

''Californiulus yosemitensis'' is found under logs in relatively dry habitats, and is occasionally in moist habitats. In certain parts of

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ar ...

''C. yosemitensis'' co-occurs with '' Paeromopus paniculus'', a larger member of the family

Discovery

''Californiulus yosemitensis'' was described by biologist Ralph Vary Chamberlin in 1941. The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

specimen was collected in Yosemite in 1931 and is stored in the

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Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Chamberlin later described two species ''Klansolus mononus'' and ''K. obscurans'', which were subsequently determined to be the same species as, and thus taxonomic synonyms of, ''C. yosemitensis''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4309246 Julida Millipedes of North America Fauna of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Animals described in 1941 Fauna of the Western United States Endemic fauna of the United States