20 
Marianne E. Filka and Rowland M. Shelley 
Caspiopetalidae 
Abacion magnum (Loomis, 1943) 
Figs. 20-24 
Abacion magnum is a crested diplopod, brown with a light middorsal 
stripe. It was one of the few species found in drier parts of deciduous, 
pine, and mixed leaf litter. Juveniles of the two callipodids, A. magnum 
and D. georgianum, could not be identified to species, but all were found 
with adult males of a single species and, as with Ptyoiulus, were identified 
as such. Adults of A. magnum were taken during all three months, while 
juveniles were collected only in July and October. This implies that 
reproduction and maturation occur throughout the year. The coxal 
processes of the gonopods of the eastern Piedmont specimens varied in 
degree of apical serration and configuration of the midlength angulation 
(Shelley 1978). These structures were found to vary similarly in the Kings 
Mountain specimens (Figs. 21-24). No other gonopodal variations were 
detected. This species has been collected in Macon and Transylvania 
counties in the North Carolina mountains (Hoffman 1950) and in eight 
counties of the eastern Piedmont (Shelley 1978). 
Delophon georgianum Chamberlin, 1943 
Figs. 25-26 
This callipodid is similar in coloration to A. magnum but is smaller 
and differs in the structure of the gonopod. Abacion magnum has a 
flagellum and a serrate coxal process lateral to the telopodite (Fig. 20, fl. 
cp). Delophon georgianum lacks the flagellum, and its coxal process 
ensheaths the stalk of the telopodite (Figs. 25-26, cp) (Shelley 1979a). Lit- 
tle gonopodal variation was found in this study. Like A. magnum, adults 
of D. georgianum were taken on all three trips, but only one juvenile was 
encountered, in April. Delophon georgianum was typically found in 
moister habitats than Abacion. 
This species has been previously reported from the mountains of 
North Carolina as D. carolinum Hoffman (Hoffman 1950; Chamberlin 
and Hoffman 1958; Wray 1967). However, Shelley (1979a) concluded 
that this binomial was a synonym of D. georgianum. The Kings Moun- 
tain population is disjunct from that occurring in the Appalachians, and 
no specimens have ever been taken in the intervening lowlands. Shelley 
speculated that the Kings Mountain population might be a Pleistocene 
relict that has survived due to a slightly cooler microclimate afforded by 
the peaks and coves of the area. Hardin and Cooper (1967) concluded 
that this was the explanation for the occurrence of several disjunct pop- 
ulations of montane plants, most notably Tsuga canadensis L. and Pinus 
strobus L., in the Piedmont. 
