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Pattern of Distribution of Endemic Pill-Millipedes in the Southwestern India

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Abstract

Pill-millipedes of the genus Arthrosphaera (Sphaerotheriidae) has restricted geographic distribution (Southern India, Sri Lanka and Madagascar) were under studied category of soil macrofauna. In the current study, seven morphospecies of Arthrosphaera were recovered in four biomes of the Western Ghats and west coast of India. In locations Makutta (A. fumosa), Karike (A. fumosa), Ninthikal (A. dalyi), Uppinangadi (A. magna) and Uppala (A. hendersoni) were endowed with only one species of Arthrosphaera. Although some locations consist of more than one species, one of them was dominated. Shankaraghatta forest consists of A. disticta and A. versicolor, but A. disticta was highly dominant. In Adyanadka plantations, A. magna was dominant than A. carinata. The highest number of A. disticta was recorded per quadrate in high-altitude location (Shimoga), followed by A. hendersoni in the coastal location (Uppala), A. magna (Adyanadka) and A. dalyi (Ninthikal) in foothill locations. The highest biomass of A. dalyi per quadrate was seen in Ninthikal, followed by A. magna in Adyanadka, A. disticta in Shimoga, A. fumosa in Karike and A. magna in Adyanadka and Uppinangadi. The richness of Arthrosphaera was positively correlated with biomass, conductivity, total nitrogen, potassium contents in soil and negatively correlated with calcium content in soil.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Mangalore University for permission to carryout studies on pill-millipedes in the Department of Biosciences. CNA acknowledges the award of INSPIRE Fellowship, Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi, Government of India (Fellowship/2011/(294): Award # IF110540). KRS acknowledges the award of UGC-BSR Faculty Fellowship by the University Grants Commission, New Delhi, India.

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  1. Department of Biosciences, Mangalore University, Mangalagangotri, Mangalore, Karnataka, 574 199, India

    Cheviri N. Ambarish & Kandikere R. Sridhar

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  1. Cheviri N. Ambarish
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  2. Kandikere R. Sridhar
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Correspondence to Kandikere R. Sridhar.

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Ambarish, C.N., Sridhar, K.R. Pattern of Distribution of Endemic Pill-Millipedes in the Southwestern India. Proc Zool Soc 69, 229–236 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12595-015-0153-8

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