38 
Rowland M. Shelley 
Variation . — The only color variation involves the presence or absence 
of a narrow red stripe along the anterior edge of the collum connecting 
the paranotal spots. 
As mentioned in the introduction, two basic gonopodal variants 
exist. In variant A (Figs. 7-9) the flange of the gonopod is greatly 
enlarged, partially or completely obscuring the stem of the acropodite in 
medial view. This condition is accompanied by a prominent basal spine 
on the ventral side of the acropodite; reduction of the medial acropodite 
spur, which is absent from some specimens (Figs. 7-8); and a more com- 
pact curvature of the acropodite in which the tip is directed dorsad or 
downward toward the coxa in medial view. In variant B (Figs. 10-12), 
which includes material from the type locality, the basal spine is absent 
and the flange is reduced so that the prostatic groove is visible in medial 
view to about the point where it crosses to the lateral side of the 
acropodite. The spur is distinct in all these specimens, and the acropodite 
extends cephalad apically with the tip directed only slightly dorsad. The 
prefemoral process varies more in variant A than in B, and is missing 
from the male from Oconee County (Fig. 7). Likewise, the apical indenta- 
tion of the acropodite occurs only in variant B (Figs. 10-1 1), but as shown 
in Figure 12 it is not present on all specimens. In both groups the 
gonopods are large and heavily sclerotized. These two variants are inter- 
mixed and occur throughout the range of shelfordi, but the presence of 
characters from each variant in the other (e.g., the spur of B in A, Fig. 19, 
and the apical configuration of A in B, Fig. 12) suggests that they are not 
reproductively isolated. Their sympatric ranges argue against subspecific 
recognition, and the only alternative is a single species with variable 
gonopods. Should future discoveries justify taxonomic recognition of the 
two groups, the name shelfordi will be available for variant B, and a new 
specific name will be required for variant A. 
Ecology. — Brevigonus shelfordi usually is found under thin layers of 
leaves on relatively hard substrates near water sources; the male from 
Oconee County was discovered under a dead pig. This region of South 
Carolina is predominantly pine, and hardwoods are typically found only 
along creeks and rivers. The type locality is an exception, however, and 
the species is abundant in the protected forest tract near the grave of John 
De La Howe. Visits to this site in August 1976 and May 1977 produced 
7M, 4F, and 7M, 2F, respectively, and many times these numbers could 
have been taken. The area is hilly, and shelfordi occurs in thick leaf piles, 
in open litter, under logs, and on banks of creeks. The following descrip- 
tion of the De La Howe forest is excerpted from Radford and Martin 
(1975:182). 
