Brachycybe producta (Feather Millipede)
Credit: Jason Bond
about the species
Unlike most millipede taxa, feather millipedes placed in the genera Brachycybe and Gosodesmus are fungivores that participate in a complex pattern of animal-fungus-plant interactions, meaning they play a critical role in shaping forest decomposer ecosystems. Brachycybe species are found across seven ecoregions of northern California, from the Northern Coast and Coast Ranges east across the Great Valley, and into the Sierra Nevada Foothills and Sierra Nevadas proper. In contrast, the feather millipede Gosodesmus claremontus is a broadly distributed California endemic with a similar ecology to Brachycybe’s, indeed, they have even been found intermingling in the same oak log!
why species was selected
The distribution of the feather millipede genus Brachycybe provides the opportunity to study a complete transect of populations from the Northern California Coast, through the Coast Ranges, across the Great Valley, into the Sierra Nevada Foothills, and the Sierra Nevadas proper. Alternatively, widespread Gosodesmus claremontus is found along the entirety of the Coastal and Transverse Ranges, as well as morphologically distinct populations in the Sierra Nevadas. Due to the complex animal-fungus-plant ecological interactions in which feather millipedes participate, we expect discernible/interesting population-level genomic patterns to emerge.
