CLEPTORIA — HOFFMAN 



25 



Remarks. — The type-specimens from South Carolina were uni- 

 formly blackish dorsally; the material from the Pink Beds area ac- 

 cording to field notes, were nearly black with the paranota a delicate 

 pinkish violet. 



From what little is known so far, C.d. nigrescens at least shows a 

 strong partiality for moist woods with rhododendron thickets. Indi- 

 viduals are apparently nocturnal, as many man-hours of collecting at 

 Pink Beds have turned up only four specimens, in contrast to literally 

 hundreds of Cherokia georgiana! One hour spent in the Horsepasture 

 Gorge was fruitless although during the evening of the same day 

 Adams and Paul picked up a small series and saw others in exactly 

 the same place in which I had collected. 



It will be of interest to establish additional localities in the western 

 half of Transylvania County as this form almost certainly makes a 

 swing around the headwaters of the French Broad River. Probably, 

 also, future work will reveal it further to the southwest in the gorges 

 of the Whitewater and Chatooga Rivers. 



Relationships 



There is no doubt that Cleptoria is related most closely to several 

 genera, notably Sigmoria and Brachoria, occurring in the southeastern 

 part of the United States. Beyond this general statement, it is difficult 

 to present detailed comparisons for several reasons. First, the distinc- 

 tions between these genera (or species groups) are based on subjective 

 evaluation of gonopod patterns and are thus liable to personal bias 



abbotti 



SIGMO 



rileyt 



bipraeside'ns 



divercjens 



Figure 22 — Schematic diagram of possible 

 phylogeny in Cleptoria, the most prim- 

 itive species on the right, the more spe- 

 cialized toward the left. 



in interpretation. Secondly, Sigmoria as presently known appears to 

 be somewhat heterogeneous and perhaps divisible into two or more 

 groups. Finally, quite a number of species, some of them possibly 

 annectant in their characters, remain to be discovered and published. 

 With the exception of C. divergens, however, the species here referred 

 to Cleptoria share such a distinctive basic gonopod configuration 



