Scoterpes copei (Packard, 1871)
Taxonomy
| Kingdom | Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum | Myriapoda |
| Class | Diplopoda |
| Order | Chordeumatida |
| Family | Trichopetalidae |
| Genus | Scoterpes |
| Species | Scoterpes copei (Packard, 1871) |
Synonyms
- Spirostrephon copei Packard, 1871 (prior combination, CoL)
- Scotherpes copei (Packard, 1871) (prior combination, CoL)
Description
Diagnostic characters
- Ecological class
- Troglobiont
- Realm
- Terrestrial
- Troglomorphy
- Troglomorphic
Distribution
Type locality
Poynter's Cave, Mammoth Cave system, Edmonson Co. KY
Range
Known from 24 counties across three states in the Interior Low Plateau karst region.
Continent
North America
Country
United States
States and provinces
Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee
Counties
- Georgia
- Dade
- Kentucky
- Adair, Allen, Barren, Breckenridge, Breckinridge, Edmonson, Green, Hardin, Hart, Meade, Metcalfe, Monroe, Pulaski, Rockcastle, Simpson, Warren, Wayne
- Tennessee
- Fentress, Hamilton, Macon, Marion, Meigs, Overton
Karst regions
Interior Low Plateau
Specimens
Collections holding material
| Institution | Lots |
|---|---|
| Field Museum of Natural History | 3 |
| Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard | 3 |
6 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 6 specimen records (CSV) Institution, catalog number, type status and preparation. No coordinates.
Conservation and management
NatureServe
G3G4Q Vulnerable to Apparently Secure
Global rank last reviewed 19 April 2010.
Subnational ranks
- Kentucky
- S3S4 Vulnerable to Apparently Secure
- Tennessee
- S1 Critically Imperiled
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
- Bailey, V. 1933. Cave Life of Kentucky. US Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Biological Survey, Washington, DC, USA. 256 pp.
- Banta, A.M. 1907. The fauna of Mayfield's Cave. Carnegie Institution of Washington Publication 67: 1–114. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/60987. details
- Causey, N.B. 1960. Speciation in North American cave millipeds. American Midland Naturalist 64: 116–122.
- Chamberlin, R.V. & Hoffman, R.L. 1958. Checklist of the millipedes of North America. United States National Museum Bulletin 212: 1–236.
- Giovannoli, L. 1933. Invertebrate life of Mammoth and other neighboring caves. In: Bailey, V. (ed), Cave Life of Kentucky, pp. 600–623.
- Harker, D.F., Jr. & Barr, T.C., Jr. 1979. Caves and associated fauna of Eastern Kentucky, Volume 3. Kentucky Nature Preserves Commission, Frankfurt, Kentucky, USA. 130 pp.
- Harker, D.F., Jr. & Barr, T.C., Jr. 1980. Caves and associated fauna of the Western Kentucky coal field, Volume 2. Kentucky Nature Preserves Commission, Frankfurt, Kentucky, USA. 114 pp.
- Lewis, J.J. 2004. Interstate 66 karst faunal study. Environmental Impact Statement. 17 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.
- Lewis, J.J. & Lewis, S.L. 2005. Inventory of the subterranean fauna of Tims Ford State Park, Franklin County, Tennessee. Tennesee Natural Heritage Program, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. 28 pp.
- Loomis, H.F. 1939. The millipeds collected in Appalachian caves by Mr. Kenneth Dearolf. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 86: 165–193. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2775893. details
- Loomis, H.F. 1943. New and epigen millipeds of the United States, with notes on some established species. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 92: 371–410. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2825746. details
- 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. & 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
- Packard, A.S. 1871. The Mammoth Cave and its inhabitants. On the crustaceans and insects. American Naturalist 5: 739–761. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2447590. details
- Packard, A.S. 1881. Fauna of the Luray and Newmarket caves, Virginia. The American Naturalist 15: 231–232. doi:10.1086/272787
- Park, O., Roberts, T.W. & Harris, S.J. 1941. Preliminary Analysis of Activity of the Cave Crayfish, Cambarus pellucidus. The American Naturalist 75: 154–171. doi:10.1086/280943
- Shear, W.A. 1972. Studies in the milliped order Chordeumida (Diplopoda): A revision of the family Cleidogonidae and a reclassification of the order Chordeumida in the New World. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 144: 151–352. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/4227660. details
- Shear, W.A. 2010a. The milliped family Trichopetalidae, Part 2: The genera Trichopetalum, Zygonopus and Scoterpes (Diplopoda: Chordeumatida, Cleidogonoidea). Zootaxa 2385: 1–62. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2385.1.1
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.
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