''Paeromopus paniculus'' is a species of
millipede endemic to 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 ...
mountains in the United States state of
California. Reaching up to 16.5 centimeters (6.5 inches) in length, it is the longest known millipede in North America.
Description
''P. paniculus'' is bluish gray in color with very faint bands. The body possesses around 75
segments ("rings") at maturity, and adults measure wide and long, with the longest known specimen reaching a length of 16.5 cm (6.5 in).
[ Like other members of 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 ...
, each body ring is marked with small parallel grooves running lengthwise, and mature males have two pair of modified legs (gonopods
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 milli ...
) on the seventh body segment (not including the head) that are used in mating.
Distribution and habitat
''P. paniculus'' lives 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 ...
mountains of California, and has mainly been found within Yosemite National Park and other parts of Mariposa County. ''P. paniculus'' is the southernmost species of '' Paeromopus'' in the Sierra Nevada.[ Little is known of its ecology but ''P. paniculus'' has been found in moist microhabitats under dead logs and bark and is known to co-occur with '']Californiulus yosemitensis
''Californiulus yosemitensis'' is a species of cylindrical millipede in the family Paeromopodidae that is found in western North America: predominantly in the Sierra Nevada of California but also extending into southeastern Oregon and parts of N ...
'', another member of the Paeromopodidae, which is distinguished from ''P. paniculus'' by having a broad yellow dorsal stripe with a black line down the middle.[
]
Discovery
Although formally described in 1997, the first specimens were collected as early as 1952. The holotype is a male collected in 1969 and housed in the Bohart Museum of Entomology
The Bohart Museum of Entomology was founded in 1946 on the campus of the University of California, Davis. The museum is currently the seventh largest insect collection in North America with more than seven million specimens of terrestrial and f ...
at the University of California, Davis. The specific epithet
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
(species name) ''paniculus'' means "tuft" in Latin, in reference to a tuft of small spines on the hind gonopods that distinguishes ''P. paniculus'' from its northern relative, '' P. eldoradus''.[
]
See also
*Ecology of the Sierra Nevada
:''See Sierra Nevada for general information about the mountain range in the United States.''
The ecology of the Sierra Nevada, located in the U.S. states of California and Nevada, is diverse and complex: the plants and animals are a significant ...
*Ecology of California
The ecology of California can be understood by dividing the state into a number of ecoregions, which contain distinct Ecology, ecological community (ecology), communities of plants and animals in a contiguous region. The ecoregions of California ...
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4288363
Julida
Millipedes of North America
Endemic fauna of California
Fauna of the Sierra Nevada (United States)
Animals described in 1997
Fauna without expected TNC conservation status