Sigmocheir calaveras is a species of millipede in the family Xystodesmidae.[1] The species in endemic to California and found in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains.[1][2][3]

Sigmocheir calaveras
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Myriapoda
Class: Diplopoda
Order: Polydesmida
Family: Xystodesmidae
Genus: Sigmocheir
Species:
S. calaveras
Binomial name
Sigmocheir calaveras
Chamberlin, 1951
Synonyms
Species synonymy
  • Sigmocheir dohenyi Chamberlin, 1953
  • Tuolumnia danehyi Chamberlin, 1953
  • Sigmocheir (Tuolumnia) danehyi Bucket, 1964

Description

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Sigmocheir calaveras is the type species for the genus Sigmocheir and was described by Ralph V. Chamberlin in 1951 based on a sample collected by G. Moore from Crystal-Stanislaus Cave, Calaveras County in 1950.[2] The species has a distinctive trimaculate pattern with an ovoid mid-tergite yellow spot and yellow paranota.[2] The paranota on S. calaveras arise high on the tergites giving the millipedes a rather flat appearance.[2]

Range

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This species occupies a central, and slightly overlapping range, with the additional representative of the genus. It is found in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains west of Stockton and Modesto[2] Individuals of the genus have been reported in Amador, Calaveras, and Tuolumne counties.[1][2] The species is often, but not always found associated with cave environments.

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Sigmocheir furcata". iNaturalist. Retrieved 2024-09-12.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Shelley, Rowland M. (1995-01-01). "The Sigmocheirini, a xystodesmid milliped tribe in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, California, U.S.A. (Polydesmida: Xystodesmidae)". Insect Systematics & Evolution. 26 (3): 339–360. doi:10.1163/187631295X00044. ISSN 1876-312X.
  3. ^ Chamberlin, Ralph V. (1951). "Eleven New Western Millipeds". Chicago Academy of Sciences Natural History Miscellanea. 87: 1–12.