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Cave Biology Data Portal
Subterranean biodiversity of North America and around the globe
AnimaliaArthropodaMyriapodaDiplopodaPolydesmidaMacrosternodesmidaeChaetaspis

Chaetaspis debilis (Causey, 1959)

Taxonomy

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Subphylum Myriapoda
Class Diplopoda
Order Polydesmida
Family Macrosternodesmidae
Genus Chaetaspis
Species Chaetaspis debilis (Causey, 1959)

Synonyms

  • Antriadesmus debilis Causey, 1959 (prior combination, CoL)

Description

Diagnostic characters

Ecological class
Troglobiont
Realm
Terrestrial
Troglomorphy
Troglomorphic

Distribution

Type locality

Walker Spring Cave, Wayne Co. TN

Range

Known from one county in Tennessee in the Interior Low Plateau karst region.

Continent

North America

Country

United States

States and provinces

Tennessee

Counties

Tennessee
Wayne

Karst regions

Interior Low Plateau

Conservation and management

Ranks looked up 2 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

Catalogue of Life
69NSK
GBIF
4986374
ITIS
571342

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.
  • Lewis, J.J. 2002l. Chaetaspis aleyorum, a new species of milliped from Tumbling Creek Cave, Missouri, with a synopsis of the cavernicolous species of Chaetaspis (Diplopoda: Polydesmida). Myriapodologica 7: 101–111. https://www.vmnh.net/content/vmnh/uploads/PDFs/research_and_collections/myriapodologica/myriapodologica_v7_11.pdf. details
  • Lewis, J.J. & Slay, M.E. 2013. Chaetaspis attenuatus, a new species of cavernicolous milliped from Arkansas (Diplopoda: Polydesmida: Macrosternodesmidae). Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 75: 60–63. doi:10.4311/2011LSC0253
  • 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
  • Shear, W.A. 1969. A synopsis of the cave millipedes of the United States, with an illustrated key to genera. Psyche 76: 126–143. doi:10.1155/1969/70437

This account was last revised 28 August 2026. Conservation ranks were looked up 2 August 2026.

How to cite this account

Chaetaspis debilis (Causey, 1959). Cave Biology Data Portal, account SP-0595. https://cavebiology.org/species/chaetaspis-debilis/ (accessed 18 October 2026).
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Data sources and funding are listed in the Acknowledgments.

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Cave Biology Data Portal

Species accounts, distributions, and conservation status for the subterranean fauna of North America and around the globe, with resources for the cave and karst research community.

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