Speodesmus tuganbius (A Cave Obligate Millipede)

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Diplopoda

Order: Polydesmida

Family: Polydesmidae

Genus: Speodesmus

Species: tuganbius

A Cave Obligate Millipede - Speodesmus tuganbius

299484

Species Extent (New Mexico)

Global Rank: G2

State Rank: S1

Rank Metadata
State Rank: S1	Rank Changed: 05/05/2025
Rank Reviewed: 03/21/2000
Reason: This species is a cave obligate with a distribution centered around Carlsbad Caverns in southern New Mexico although it has been found in several other caves in New Mexcio. As a result, of this specialized habitat requirement the species has a very small Area of Occupancy of just 5km2 and is also only known from 5 occurrences. These cave systems are extremely fragile ecosystems and are highly threatened by drought and warming temperatures which may change the ecology of these cave systems. As a result, this species has an inferred continuing decline in the extent and quality of its habitat in New Mexico as it requires wet cave systems. The species is currently assessed as S1 in New Mexico however, a reassessment is needed if more information becomes available on this poorly known species.

Ecological Factors
Specificity: Very narrow. Specialist or community with key requirements scarce.	Range Extent: 20,000-200,000 square km (about 8000-80,000 square miles)
Occurences: 1 - 5	Population Size: Unknown
Area of Occupancy: An Area of Occupancy of 5km2 was calculated using GeoCat with GBIF.org data from the last fifty years.	Threat Summary: N/A

State Status:

Federal Status:

USFS Status:

BLM Status:

SWAP Status:

NMRP Strategy Status:

Number of Subpopulations: 0

Number of Mapped Locations: 0

Number of Observations: 0

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