Trichopetalum whitei
Trichopetalum whitei | |
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Head (1), enlarged 6th leg (2), and normal leg (3) of a male T. whitei | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Subphylum: | Myriapoda |
Class: | Diplopoda |
Order: | Chordeumatida |
Family: | Trichopetalidae |
Genus: | Trichopetalum |
Species: | T. whitei
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Binomial name | |
Trichopetalum whitei (Ryder, 1881)
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Synonyms | |
Zygonopus whitei |
Trichopetalum whitei, common name Luray Caverns blind cave millipede, is a rare
Description
T. whitei is an eyeless, white (unpigmented) millipede. In common with all
Ecology and range
T. whitei is a
The species is recorded from caves in the upper Potomac River drainage in Virginia (Augusta, Page, Rockingham, and Shenandoah Counties) and West Virginia (Hardy, Grant, and Pendleton Counties). However, if another cave millipede, T. weyeriensis, intergrades with T. whitei in Pendleton County and these two species are synonymous (as some workers believe), then the range of T. whitei would also extend into Greenbrier, Monroe and Pocahontas Counties in West Virginia.
Reproduction and life cycle
Nothing is known of the life history of this species. In related species, the male secretes sperm from pores on the
Conservation status
T. whitei is considered globally vulnerable to extinction by NatureServe, with populations in West Virginia considered critically imperiled, and Virginia populations imperiled.[1] T. whitei is designated as a Regional Forester Sensitive Species in the Monongahela National Forest in the Eastern Region of the Forest Service.[2]
Taxonomy
T. whitei was first described as Zygonopus whitei by Ryder in 1881.[3] It became Trichopetalum whitei with the synonymy of Zygonopus with Trichopetalum by Shear in 1972.[4] Causey has suggested that Trichopetalum weyeriensis may be a subspecies of Trichopetalum whitei rather than a distinct species.[5]
References
- ^ a b "Zygonopus whitei - Ryder, 1881 Luray Caverns Blind Cave Millipede". NatureServe Explorer: An online encyclopedia of life. Version 7.1. NatureServe. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
- USDA Forest Service, Eastern Region. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
- .
- Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 144: 151–352.
- ^ John. R. Holsinger, Roger A. Baroody & David C. Culver (1976). "The invertebrate cave fauna of West Virginia". West Virginia Speleological Survey Bulletin. 7: 1–82.
Further reading
- Elliott, William R. (1998), "Conservation of the North American cave and karst biota" In Subterranean Biota (Series: Ecosystems of the World). Elsevier Science, Electronic preprint at www.utexas.edu/depts/tnhc/.www/biospeleology/preprint.htm. 29 pages.
- Holsinger, John R.; Culver, David C. (1988). "The invertebrate cave fauna of Virginia and a part of eastern Tennessee: Zoogeography and Ecology". Brimleyana. 14: 1–162.
- Loomis, Harold F. (1939). "The millipeds collected in Appalachian caves by Mr. Kenneth Dearolf". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 86: 165–193.
- "Conservation Assessment for Luray Caverns Blind Cave Milliped" (Trichopetalum whitei) 8
- "Conservation Assessment for Luray Caverns Blind Cave Milliped" (Trichopetalum whitei) 9
- Schubart, O. (1934), "Tausendfüßler oder Myriapoda. 1: Diplopoda", In Die Tierwelt Deutschlands, 28 Teil. Jena: Gustav Fischer, 318 pages.
- Shear, William A. (1971). "The milliped Family Conotylidae in North America, with a description of the new Family Adritylidae (Diplopoda: Chordeumida)". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 141 (2): 55–97.