Jones' Cave Millipede
Tetracion jonesi Hoffman, 1956
Taxonomy
| Kingdom | Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum | Myriapoda |
| Class | Diplopoda |
| Order | Callipodida |
| Family | Abacionidae |
| Genus | Tetracion |
| Species | Tetracion jonesi Hoffman, 1956 |
Description
Diagnostic characters
- Ecological class
- Troglobiont
- Realm
- Terrestrial
- Troglomorphy
- Troglomorphic
Distribution
Type locality
Bat Cave, Marshall Co. AL
Range
Known from six counties across two states in the Interior Low Plateau karst region.
Continent
North America
Country
United States
States and provinces
Alabama, Tennessee
Counties
- Alabama
- DeKalb, Jackson, Madison, Marshall, Morgan
- Tennessee
- Franklin
Karst regions
Interior Low Plateau
Genetics
Molecular resources
| Marker | Molecule | Sequences | Length | Exemplar |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COI | mitochondrial | 17 | 547-571 bp | JN656607.1 |
17 sequences, retrieved 23 August 2026. Counts change as sequences are deposited. Search GenBank.
Download all 17 sequence records (CSV) Accession, marker, molecule type, length, GenBank definition and a direct link.
Specimens
Collections holding material
| Institution | Lots |
|---|---|
| North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences | 5 |
| Field Museum of Natural History | 2 |
7 cataloged lots in 2 collections. Compiled from GBIF and not an exhaustive census: many collections are not yet digitised, and holdings are added continually. Search GBIF for specimen records.
Download all 7 specimen records (CSV) Institution, catalog number, type status and preparation. No coordinates.
Conservation and management
NatureServe
G3G4 Vulnerable to Apparently Secure
Global rank last reviewed 21 August 2002.
Subnational ranks
- Tennessee
- S1S2 Critically Imperiled to Imperiled
- Alabama
- SNR Unranked
Ranks looked up 23 August 2026. Conservation status changes, and a rank here is as current as that date and no more.
State and federal status
Not listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
Other resources
References
- Causey, N.B. 1959. Some cavernicolous millipeds from the Cumberland Plateau. Journal of the Tennessee Academy of Science 34: 229–237.
- Causey, N.B. 1960. Speciation in North American cave millipeds. American Midland Naturalist 64: 116–122.
- Dixon, G.B. & Zigler, K.S. 2011. Cave-obligate biodiversity on the campus of Sewanee: The University of the South, Franklin County, Tennessee. Southeastern Naturalist 10: 251–266. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41263008. details
- Godwin, J.C. 2008. Biological inventory of the cave and karst systems of The Nature Conservancy's Sharp-Bingham Mountain Preserve. Alabama Natural Heritage Program, Auburn, Alabama, USA. 40 pp.
- Hoffman, R.L. 1956. New genera and species of cavernicolous diplopods from Alabama. Paper of the Alabama Museum of Natural History 35: 1–13.
- Lawson, K.M., Schotz, A.R., Jenkins, A.J., Armbruster, J.W., Black, C., Callahan, M., Goertzen, L., Hansen, C., Stephen, C.D.R., Werneke, D., Mendonca, M. & Molina, E. 2021. Planning level survey of Redstone Arsenal for at-risk species and ecologically significant communities. Environmental Management Division, U.S. Army Garrison, Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, Alabama, USA. 402 pp.
- Lewis, J.J. 2005a. A biological inventory of caves of the Cumberland Plateau. Tennessee Chapter Cave Program, The Nature Conservancy, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. 156 pp.
- Loria, S.F., Zigler, K.S. & Lewis, J.J. 2011. Molecular phylogeography of the troglobiotic millipede Tetracion Hoffman, 1956 (Diplopoda, Callipodida, Abacionidae). International Journal of Myriapodology 5: 35–48.
- Nicholas, G. 1960. Checklist of macroscopic troglobitic organisms of the United States. The American Midland Naturalist 64: 123–160. doi:10.2307/2422897
- Niemiller, M.L., Slay, M.E., Inebnit, T., Miller, B., Tobin, B., Cramphorn, B., Hinkle, A., Jones, B.D., Mann, N. & Niemiller, K.D.K. 2023a. Fern Cave: a hotspot of subterranean biodiversity in the Interior Low Plateau karst region of Alabama in the southeastern United States. Diversity 15: 633. doi:10.3390/d15050633
- Niemiller, M.L. & Zigler, K.S. 2013. Patterns of cave biodiversity and endemism in the Appalachians and Interior Plateau of Tennessee, USA. PLOS One 8: e64177. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0064177
- Peck, S.B. 1973a. A systematic revision and the evolutionary biology of the Ptomaphagus (Adelops) beetles of North America (Coleoptera; Leiodidae; Catopinae), with emphasis on cave-inhabiting species. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 145: 29–162. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/4336298. details
- Peck, S.B. 1989. The cave fauna of Alabama. Part I. The terrestrial invertebrates (excluding insects). National Speleological Society Bulletin 51: 11–33.
- Shear, W.A., McPherson, I.S., Jones, T.H., Loria, S.F. & Zilger, K.S. 2010. Chemical defense of a troglobiont millipede, Tetracion jonesi Hoffman (Diplopoda, Callipodida, Abacionidae). International Journal of Myriapodology 3: 153–158.
- Wakefield, K.R. & Zigler, K.S. 2012. Obligate subterranean fauna of Carter State Natural Area, Franklin County, Tennessee. Speleolobiology Notes 4: 24–28.
This account was last revised 28 August 2026. Conservation ranks were looked up 23 August 2026.
How to cite this account
Data sources and funding are listed in the Acknowledgments.
Spotted something wrong on this page? Report a correction. Accounts are compiled from many sources and corrections from people who know the group are the most useful email we get.