so. 3630 CLEPTORIA — HOFFMAN 6 



I have been able to secure only one member of the genus through 

 personal collection, and all of the new material at hand springs from 

 the unflagging diligence of Leslie Hubricht, who has generously sent 

 me material of all of the species here considered valid, including the 

 two undescribed forms. It would not be incorrect to state that our 

 expanding knowledge of American diplopods is due in large measure 

 to Mr. Hubricht's skill as a collector and his willingness to devote 

 time and effort to the collection of specimens outside of his own special 

 area of interest. 



My own field experience with Cleptoria divergens has been imple- 

 mented by grants administered by the Highlands Biological Station. 

 The synthesis was commenced at the U.S. National Museum in 1959 

 and completed at Radford College hi 1963 with the support of grants 

 (G-9S05 and G-21519) from the National Science Foundation. 



Taxonomic Characters 



Gonopods. — As usual, the gonopods offer specific characters of 

 primary importance in the recognition of species. Attention may be 

 called to one feature that is somewhat more variable and significant 

 than in other related xystodesmid genera: the course of the seminal 

 groove on the distal half of the telopodite. 



Basically, the telopodite in Cleptoria is rather short and massive, 

 and usually bent nearly at a right angle or strongly curved (in C. 

 divergens), as shown in figures 7, 9, 14, and 18. The prefemoral area 

 is small and either mutic or with only a small spur on the lateral side. 

 The abruptly narrowed and compressed femoral region, where the 

 angulation occurs, usually has a rather distinct flange-like lateral 

 edge, most distinctive in C. macro, (fig. 6) , where it comes to a promi- 

 nent angular termination. The distal third of the telopodite has a 

 characteristic appearance ("shaped like a bird's head . . . ." in the 

 opinion of Bollman) in that the apex is strongly recurved proximad, 

 usually with a prominent rounded enlargement on the outer surface. 

 This distal change in direction is strongly reflected by the course of 

 the seminal groove, which runs out on the inner side of the femoral 

 flange and then tons proximad at about a right angle. In several 

 species, such as C rileyi, C. abbotti, and C. divergens, the extreme end 

 of the distal area is convex and striate on the lateral side, forming a 

 kind of short, heavy solenomerite. This area is flat and smooth in 

 C. bipraesidens and C. macra. In C. macra also, the seminal groove 

 runs along the outer edge of the basal postfemoral region instead of its 

 approximately medial location in the other species. 



In C. abbotti the prefemoral region is unusually enlarged and the 

 postfemoral elements considerably reduced in size; the telopodite in 

 this species accordingly is about the most massive in form that I 



