Brachoria flammipes
The Fire-footed Mimic Millipede
Paul MarekCharacteristics
Brachoria flammipes individuals are about 44.6 mm long and 9.9 mm wide (females 48.6 mm X 10.7 mm). Color: Striped yellow (1.25Y 8/14, shown above) or red; and striped yellow (10YR 7/12) lateral paranotal spots but with orange (7.5YR 6/12) medial metatergal stripes.
Brachoria flammipes genitalia - left male gonopodal acropodite (with setae removed): (Left) medial view and (Right) magnified apical view. © Paul Marek
Brachoria flammipes, striped red color morph. © Paul Marek
Habitat
Brachoria flammipes specimens were collected during the evening (19:00) in a moist forest comprising maple, hemlock, dogwood, sycamore, birch, and tulip poplar trees. Individuals were found on a north-facing slope beneath layers of decomposing leaf material on the side of a trail above (south) Cawood Branch. Other xystodesmids encountered co-occurring with B. flammipes were Brachoria splendida, Apheloria virginiensis corrugata and a species of Nannaria. Note: Individuals of B. flammipes may be confused in the field with B. splendida and A. virginiensis corrugata due to similarity in color patterns. Nannaria is easy to distinguish; it has an olive drab color and a body length ~3/4 that of B. flammipes.Distribution
Known only from the type locality in Leslie Co., Kentucky. The closest known Brachoria species, B. splendida, co-occurs with B. flammipes at Cawood Recreation Site. Brachoria gracilipes occurs about 17 km E in the town of Pine Mountain, Harlan County, Kentucky.Conservation status
Brachoria flammipes is threatened by habitat loss due to agriculture (especially growing demand for paper products), coal mining, development, and the invasion of exotic species.References
Marek P.E. 2010. A revision of the Appalachian millipede genus Brachoria Chamberlin, 1939 (Polydesmida: Xystodesmidae: Apheloriini). Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 159: 817-889.
About This Page
Work on the millipede Tree of Life pages was supported by a U.S. National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant to Paul Marek and Jason Bond (DEB 0607996) and a Partnerships for Enhancing Expertise in Taxonomy Grant to Petra Sierwald, Jason Bond, and William Shear (DEB 0529715).
Paul Marek
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Correspondence regarding this page should be directed to Paul Marek at
Page copyright © 2010 Paul Marek
Page: Tree of Life Brachoria flammipes Authored by . The Fire-footed Mimic Millipede.Paul Marek. The TEXT of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0. Note that images and other media featured on this page are each governed by their own license, and they may or may not be available for reuse. Click on an image or a media link to access the media data window, which provides the relevant licensing information. For the general terms and conditions of ToL material reuse and redistribution, please see the Tree of Life Copyright Policies.
- First online 16 September 2010
- Content changed 16 September 2010
Citing this page:
Marek, Paul. 2010. Brachoria flammipes http://tolweb.org/Brachoria_flammipes/144815/2010.09.16 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/
. The Fire-footed Mimic Millipede. Version 16 September 2010 (under construction).