Proceedings of 

 the United States 

 National Museu 



m 



SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION • WASHINGTON, D.C. 



Volume 112 I960 Number 3436 



REVISION OF THE MILLIPED GENUS CHEROKIA 

 (POLYDESMIDA : XYSTODESMIDAE) 



By Richard L. Hoffman 1 



Introduction 



The student of humus fauna who pursues field work in the circum- 

 Appalachian region of southeastern United States cannot help but be- 

 come impressed with the abundance and variability of millipeds of the 

 genus Ckerokia. It is a well-marked ensemble of xystodesmids which 

 in many areas is the most conspicuous element of the diplopod fauna. 

 Besides the interest engendered by the broad ecological tolerance and 

 geographic variability of its forms, Cherokia has a still more compelling 

 claim upon our attention, for despite the diversity of body form, color 

 pattern, and morphological details which occurs in the genus, the male 

 gonopods remain essentially similar. 



Generally, species in xystodesmid genera tend to be remarkably 

 similar in external body form, specific individuality being expressed 

 solely in the gonopods, which often assume bizarre shapes of great 

 specific constancy. Cherokia represents an apparent departure from 

 this condition, and in working out the s^'stematics of this genus one 

 faces the problem whether to assume the occurrence of heteromorphic 

 species — with external differentiation in body form at the expense of 

 the normally variable gonopods — or a single highly variable species 

 within the genus. 



'This paper was written while the author was affiliated with the Biology Department, Virginia 

 Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, Virginia. 



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