Talk:Harpaphe haydeniana

Worldwide distribution

I'm not a millipede expert - I was trying to explain the appearance of the millipede I caught in the bathroom last night and flushed down the toilet. The photo is almost a perfect match (as I recall), and as I rolled it in toilet tissue I caught a sudden smell of something 'sweet'. Our bathroom is on the West Coast of Malaysia. I realise wikipedia isn't a 'millipede spotting' resource, but I wonder if there's scope for a 'could be mistaken for' box or similar? SeanCollins (talk) 02:51, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

Millipedes are often very difficult to distinguish visually without closely examining the reproductive organs, and especially in this family (Xystodesmidae), there are many similar species, some of which occur together, others that don't. Chonaphe armata, for instance, looks almost identical to Harpaphe haydeniana, although the two species are in different tribes but occur in the same areas. The black-with-yellow-spots pattern is also seen in Sigmoria latior latior, which lives in a completely different part of the country. I don't know anything about Malasysian millipedes, but it is very likely it was not Harpaphe but rather a similarly-colored species. Animalparty (talk) 03:34, 3 November 2013 (UTC)

Lekking misinformation

I have discovered apparent vandalism in the article on lek mating, in which it was claimed, among other things, that female lekking occurs in the yellow spotted millipede. Anyone in a position either to provide information on relevant citations (properly supported, not merely appearing informally) on its true mating behaviour, or interested in the vandalism, please consult the talk page at lek mating. JonRichfield (talk) 09:10, 12 April 2013 (UTC)

Dubious Asian presence

I have repeatedly removed unsourced statements that claim Harpaphe haydeniana occurs in Southeast Asia, China, Malaysia, etc. This is a common misconception but almost certainly false, likely due to the unfortunate ambiguity of most common names given to this species (many species are in fact yellow-spotted, almond-scented, and cyanide-producing), and the superficial similarity to other species. There is a lot of incorrect information on the internet: tropical species such as Anoplodesmus anthracinus or Orthomorpha coarctata are much more likely outside of North America and have been formally identified in checklists. (e.g. ) In the interest of transparency, there have been some peer-reviewed papers claiming Harpaphe exists in India (e.g. [1], [2]) but these ID's were based on superficial external features like color, size, and shape, not examination of gonopods, which is crucial for accurate identification (one study used Wikipedia for identification!). A 2016 checklist of Indian millipedes by specialists declares H. haydeniana a "definitely erroneous Indian record" and states: "From the published illustrations... the Indian records constitute misidentifications of a paradoxosomatid that probably belongs to Anoplodesmus. Both Harpaphe and H. haydeniana are North American endemics (e.g. Hoffman 1999), and the family (Xystodesmidae) is primarily Holarctic (Marek et al. 2014). According to Dash & Priyadarsini (2016), the misidentified Indian species is Anoplodesmus saussurii." Similarly, supposed H. haydeniana from Singapore have in fact been A. saussurii. The "Similar species" section of this article addresses other species commonly or possibly mistaken for H. haydeniana. Until the presence of Harpaphe is confirmed (not simply reported) outside of North America, Wikipedia should not perpetuate such ideas. Incredible claims require incredible evidence, and external appearance is simply insufficient for identification. --Animalparty! (talk) 00:21, 11 April 2017 (UTC)

References