Narceus woodruffi Causey : a forgotten milliped species (Spirobolida: Spirobolidae)

Previous treatments ofthe east-Nearctic spirobolid genus Narceus Rafinesque have overlooked the name, N. woodruffi Causey. The holotype is lost, but examinations of a non-typical male and two paratype and three non-typical females show it to be a valid species, perhaps endemic to north Florida, distinguished by its small size and the configurations of the gonopods and coxal lobes of legs 3-6 in males. Supplemental anatomical notes are presented on the non-typical male along with comparative drawings of the lobes and gonopods of N. woodruffi, N. american us (Beauvois), and N. annularis (Rafinesque); distributions of species of Narceus in Florida are depicted on a map. Substantial size differences between ostensibly conspecific males of N. american us in Texas and Arkansas suggest that Narceus may be more complex than the current concept of four species

Parajulid milliped studies : 5. The genera Pseudojulus Bollman and Arvechambus Causey (Parajulinae: Aniulini)

The parajulid milliped genus Pseudojulus Bollman comprises four species: P. obtectus (Bollman), P.paynei (Hoffman), n. comb., andP. carolinensis andP. coastalis, new species; Arvechambus Causey comprises two species, A. hummi and A. weemsi, both by Causey. Georgiulus Hoffman is placed in synonymy under Fseudojulus; G. hubrichti Hoffman is placed under P. paynei; and A. australis Causey is placed under A. hummi. The genera are sympatric in north Florida and southern Georgia, but Pseudojulus extends northward to coastal South Carolina and southcentral North Carolina, and westward to Alabama west of Mobile Bay. Both genera belong to the Aniulini and possess unique features; in Pseudojulus the anterior gonopod coxae are fused into a "shelf" on the dorsal surface ofthe complex that extends ventrad along the caudal margin and possesses a pair of posterior median syncoxallobes or laminas of varying lengths and configurations. Arvechambus exhibits a suite of apomorphies and is sister to the rest of the tribe collectively: the 8th sternum possesses elevated lateral lobes that overhang the sides ofthe gonopodal aperture; the 7th pleurotergite possesses lobes that also overlie the sides of the aperture; the anterior gonopods lack lateral syncoxal processes, the coxal lobes, much larger than in other tribal genera, arise laterad and obscure part of the telopodite in anterior view, and the telopodite is elongate rather than clavate; and the 2nd pleurotergite in females possesses lobes that overhang and effectively close the cyphopodal aperture

A re-evaluation of the milliped genus Motyxia Chamberlin : with a re-diagnosis of the tribe Xystocheirini and remarks on the bioluminescence (Polydesmida: Xystodesmidae)

Motyxia Chamberlin is comprised of eight species of bioluminescent xystocheirine millipeds in which the gonopodal solenomere arises at different positions, from basally and subbasally on the acropodite to being fused with the companion acropodal branch and detaching proximad or near midlength. Previous synonymies of Amplocheir Chamberlin and LuminodeslnllS Loomis and Davenport under Motyxia are confirmed as is its assignment to the tribe Xystocheirini, which is redefined. Component species are 111. Iwnw Chamberlin, the type species, monica Chamberlin, sequoiae (Loomis and Davenport), tularea (Chamberlin), sequoia (Chamberlin), pior Chamberlin, porrecta Causey and Tiemann, and tiemanni Causey. Motyxia sequoia is comprised oftwo races, the nominate and sequoia alia Causey and Tiemann; sequoia ollae Causey and Tiemann is properly a subspecies of tularea. 1I1otyxiapiorform secea is an invalid name without standing in nomenclature, and M. tejona Chamberlin, and M. expansa and exilis, both by Loomis, are placed in synonymy under M. monica, the oldest name for the southernmost species, as Polydesllws dissectus Wood is referrable to Xystocheir Cook. The bioluminescence is a continuous, neon-white glow of the entire dorsal surface including the antennae and legs. Its visibility at night suggests a warning function analogous to aposematic coloration. The phenomenon may observe a circadian rhythm, and controlled photoperiod experimentation may be productive

Occurrence of the milliped, Hiltonius carpinus carpinus Chamberlin, 1943 (Spirobolida: Spirobolidae), in the United States and new records from Mexico

Hiltonius carpinus carpinus Chamberlin, 1943 (Spirobolida: Spirobolidae), is authoritatively recorded from the United States for the first time; it is known only from southern/southeastern Arizona but should be expected in adjoining counties of New Mexico. The northernmost locality is the Pinaleno Mountains, Graham County, and its distribution extends to southern Mexico; the other subspecies, H. c. vulcan (Chamberlin, 1953), occurs in Guatemala. The range of H. c. carpinus includes the type locality of the enigmatic H. fossulifer (Pocock, 1908), lending credence to prior suggestions that the names are synonymous. Three new Mexican states – Durango, Jalisco, and Nuevo León – are documented for H. c. carpinus

Annotated checklist of the millipeds of Florida (Arthropoda: Diplopoda)

The milliped fauna of Florida consists of 8 orders, 18 families, 34 genera, and 51 species and subspecies; it comprises six elements: widespread species occurring widely in Florida, northern species reaching their southern limits in north Florida, neotropical species occurring naturally in Florida or adventive there, oriental adventives, Florida endemics, and southeastern endemics. A complete listing of these taxa is provided, with published and new records from the state, synonyms, and type localities. Georgiulus paynei Hoffman, Cleidogona alata Causey, and Pseudopolydesmus serratus (Say) are newly recorded from the state, and Eurymerodesmus serratus Shelley is deleted; Pseudojulus obtectus (Bollman) is recorded from Alabama

A third locality for the milliped Mitocybe auriportae Cook and Loomis, 1928 (Platydesmida: Andrognathidae)

With the discovery of Mitocybe auriportae Cook and Loomis, 1928 (Platydesmida: Andrognathidae) in Alameda County (Co.), east of San Francisco Bay, a potential overall distribution in coastal California is projected based on those of partly congruent diplopods. The area extends from northern Mendocino to central Monterey cos. and inland to central Lake, Yolo, and Santa Clara cos

Millipeds from the eastern Dakotas and western Minnesota, USA, with an account of Pseudopolydesmus serratus (Say, 1821) (Polydesmida: Polydesmidae); first published records from six states and the District of Columbia

The diplopod orders Callipodida and Polydesmida, and their respective families Abacionidae and Xystodesmidae, are initially recorded from South Dakota as is Polydesmidae from North Dakota. Other new records of indigenous taxa include Abacion Rafinesque, 1820/A. texense (Loomis, 1937) and Pleuroloma/P. flavipes, both by Rafinesque, 1820, from South Dakota, and Pseudopolydesmus Attems, 1898/P. serratus (Say, 1821) from Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Carolina, and the District of Columbia. New records of Aniulus garius Chamberlin, 1912, A. (Hakiulus) d. diversifrons (Wood, 1867), and Oriulus venustus (Wood, 1864) (Julida: Parajulidae) are provided for western Minnesota and/or eastern North Dakota. Published records from these states are summarized, and the introduced taxa, Julidae/Cylindroiulus Verhoeff, 1894/C. caeruleocinctus (Wood, 1864) and Paradoxosomatidae/Oxidus Cook, 1911/O. gracilis (C. L. Koch, 1847), are newly recorded from the Dakotas. The distribution of P. serratus, which extends from Maine to South Carolina and the Florida panhandle, west to Texas, and north to Fargo, North Dakota is described and discussed. This distribution exhibits a prominent southeastern lacuna which we hypothesize suggests replacement by younger, more successful species, as postulated for a similar distributional gap in Scytonotus granulatus (Say, 1821)

Modality effects in vocabulary acquisition

It is unknown whether modality affects the efficiency with which humans learn novel word forms and their meanings, with previous studies reporting both written and auditory advantages. The current study implements controls whose absence in previous work likely offers explanation for such contradictory findings. In two novel word learning experiments, participants were trained and tested on pseudoword - novel object pairs, with controls on: modality of test, modality of meaning, duration of exposure and transparency of word form. In both experiments word forms were presented in either their written or spoken form, each paired with a pictorial meaning (novel object). Following a 20-minute filler task, participants were tested on their ability to identify the picture-word form pairs on which they were trained. A between subjects design generated four participant groups per experiment 1) written training, written test; 2) written training, spoken test; 3) spoken training, written test; 4) spoken training, spoken test. In Experiment 1 the written stimulus was presented for a time period equal to the duration of the spoken form. Results showed that when the duration of exposure was equal, participants displayed a written training benefit. Given words can be read faster than the time taken for the spoken form to unfold, in Experiment 2 the written form was presented for 300 ms, sufficient time to read the word yet 65% shorter than the duration of the spoken form. No modality effect was observed under these conditions, when exposure to the word form was equivalent. These results demonstrate, at least for proficient readers, that when exposure to the word form is controlled across modalities the efficiency with which word form-meaning associations are learnt does not differ. Our results therefore suggest that, although we typically begin as aural-only word learners, we ultimately converge on developing learning mechanisms that learn equally efficiently from both written and spoken materials