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''Mammamia profuga'' is a species of
''Mammamia profuga'' measures about 26 mm (1 inch) long, and 1.5 mm wide, consisting of around 50 body segments, the last two without legs. The body and legs are pale yellow in color, without markings, and the walking legs are about 2.25 mm long, except for the first pair in males, which are small and hook-like, as in other julidan millipedes. The species completely lacks eyes or ocelli. Like all members of the order Julida, mature males have two pairs of highly modified legs, the
cave-dwelling
A cave dweller, or troglodyte, is a human being who inhabits a cave or the area beneath the overhanging rocks of a cliff.
Prehistory
Some prehistoric humans were cave dwellers, but most were not (''see'' ''Homo'' and Human evolution). Suc ...
millipede
Millipedes are a group of arthropods that are characterised by having two pairs of jointed legs on most body segments; they are known scientifically as the class Diplopoda, the name derived from this feature. Each double-legged segment is a resu ...
in the family Julidae
Julidae is a family of millipedes in the order Julida, containing more than 600 species in around 20 genera. Its members are largely confined to the Western Palaearctic, with only a few species extending into the Oriental and Afrotropical realms ...
. The only known species of the genus ''Mammamia'', it was described in 2011 from a specimen discovered in a cave in Italy.
Description
''Mammamia profuga'' measures about 26 mm (1 inch) long, and 1.5 mm wide, consisting of around 50 body segments, the last two without legs. The body and legs are pale yellow in color, without markings, and the walking legs are about 2.25 mm long, except for the first pair in males, which are small and hook-like, as in other julidan millipedes. The species completely lacks eyes or ocelli. Like all members of the order Julida, mature males have two pairs of highly modified legs, the gonopod
Gonopods are specialized appendages of various arthropods used in reproduction or egg-laying. In males, they facilitate the transfer of sperm from male to female during mating, and thus are a type of intromittent organ. In crustaceans and millip ...
s, consisting of the 8th and 9th pair, and in ''Mammamia'' the anterior (forward-most) gonopods are slightly longer than the posterior gonopods.
Discovery
''Mammamia profuga'' was described from a single male specimen collected from a cave in Taranto Province, Italy in 1964. It was described as a new genus and species in 2011 by a team of Danish and Bulgarian scientists.Etymology
The genus name ''Mammamia'' derives from the Italian expression "Mamma mia!" in reference to the "astonishing" features, including eyelessness and unique feature of the gonopods. The species name ''profuga'' is Latin for "homeless" or "refugee", a reference to the fact that the cave the species was discovered in was subsequently destroyed.See also
*''Titanophyllum
'' Titanophyllum spiliarum '' is a species of cave-dwelling millipede in the family Julidae. The only known species of the genus ''Titanophyllum'', it was described in 2011 from specimens discovered in a cave in Greece. It has several unusual cha ...
'', another European cave-dwelling millipede described along with ''Mammamia''
*''Trichopetalum whitei
''Trichopetalum whitei'', common name Luray Caverns blind cave millipede, is a rare troglobitic (obligate cavernicolous) millipede of the upper Potomac River drainage in four Virginia counties and three West Virginia counties. It has been recorde ...
'', a North American cave-dwelling millipede
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q18351982 Julida Endemic fauna of Italy Millipedes of Europe Cave millipedes Animals described in 2011 Monotypic arthropod genera