Nannaria equalis Chamberlin, 1949

Means, Jackson C., Hennen, Derek A. & Marek, Paul E., 2021, A revision of the minor species group in the millipede genus Nannaria Chamberlin, 1918 (Diplopoda, Polydesmida, Xystodesmidae), ZooKeys 1030, pp. 1-180 : 1

Nannaria equalis Chamberlin, 1949 Fig. 54 Vernacular name: "The Knoxville Twisted-Claw Millipede"

Nannaria equalis Chamberlin, 1949: 4, fig. 4. Chamberlin and Hoffman 1958: 40. Hoffman 1999: 366. Marek et al. 2014: 37. Means et al. 2021: S69-S70.

Material examined.

United States - Tennessee • 1 ♂; Knox County, site 2 mesic cove hardwoods; from label: 17.233902E 3993447N; 10 May 2005; J. Sevier leg.; VMNH NAN0335. For detailed collection data see Suppl. material 7 .

Diagnosis.

Adult males of N. equalis are distinct from other Nannaria and the nearby N. monsdomia sp. nov. and N. scutellaria based on the following combination of characters: Gonopods. Gonopodal acropodite straight before apex, not slightly curving before apex as in N. monsdomia sp. nov. Distal zone much reduced, rounded, simple, not with small, lobed lateral flange as in N. monsdomia sp. nov., or bent at 90° with pronounced medial flange as in N. scutellaria . Acropodite with medial swelling, lacking in N. scutellaria . Telopodite basal zone height ca. 1/2 length of acropodite, not> 2/3 length as in N. monsdomia sp. nov. or <1/3 length as in N. scutellaria . Prefemur with large, straight prefemoral process (Fig. 54A , red arrow), not curving medially, crossing acropodite, and expanding before tip, as in N. monsdomia sp. nov., or curving laterally as in N. scutellaria . Prefemoral spine sharp, curving laterally (Fig. 54B , red triangle), not widely separated from prefemoral process and rounded, as in N. monsdomia sp. nov., or lacking as in N. scutellaria . Acropodite appearing as straight line in medial view, therefore the medial view was not illustrated. Color. Chamberlin reports that the paranota of Nannaria equalis are yellow in color, though this would be unique in the Nannaria and has not been confirmed by the authors. It is likely Chamberlin was referring to a preserved specimen whose color had faded in alcohol.

Measurements.

♂ (VMNH, NAN0335): BL = 27.2, CW = 4.0, IW = 1.7, ISW = 0.9, B11W = 4.7, B11H = 2.8.

Variation.

No known variation.

Distribution.

Known only from the type locality (Tennessee: Knox County; Suppl. material 7; Fig. 126 ). Distribution area: N/A; status: MRE.

Ecology.

Chamberlin (1949) gives no information on the ecology of N. equalis .

Etymology.

Chamberlin (1949) provided no etymology for the name equalis, though it is reasonable to assume that it is in reference to the prefemoral process nearly equaling in length the acropodite, as Chamberlin mentions in his description.

Type locality.

United States, Tennessee, Knox County, Knoxville.

Notes.

In the original publication Chamberlin (1949: 4) designated a male holotype and female paratype (originally as an “allotype”).

Figures

Figure 54. Nannaria equalis ♂ (VMNH, NAN 0335) left gonopod A anterior view; red arrow indicates large, straight prefemoral process B posterior view; red triangle indicates sharp prefemoral spine. Scale bar: 0.5 mm.

Figure 126. Distribution map of Nannaria minor species group collection localities in the central Appalachians.