A second species of the pill millipede genus Nearctomeris Wesener, 2012 (Diplopoda, Glomerida) from the Great Smoky Mountains, USA.

ABSTRACT: We describe a second species of Nearctomeris Wesener, 2012, a genus of pill millipede endemic to the southern Appalachians, based on morphological and molecular evidence. The fauna of Glomerida in America is characterized by its low diversity, and Nearctomerissmokysp. nov. is only the fifth species of the order known from the eastern United States. Our phylogenetic analyses based on COI sequences recover a tentatively monophyletic lineage including both eastern American genera Onomeris Cook, 1896 and Nearctomeris, with a common ancestor in the Late Cretaceous to Mid Eocene and extant diversity within genera dating back to the Miocene. Our results suggest that the observed low diversity of the group in the eastern US is likely caused by extinction events,

SUBMITTER: Recuero E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10846838 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature