# Mammamia

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Genus of millipedes

For the television program, see [Mammamia!](/source/Mammamia!) For other uses, see [Mammamia (disambiguation)](/source/Mammamia_(disambiguation)).

Mammamia The gonopods of M. profuga Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Subphylum: Myriapoda Class: Diplopoda Order: Julida Family: Julidae Genus: Mammamia Akkari, Stoev, & Enghoff, 2011 Type species Mammamia profuga Akkari, Stoev, & Enghoff, 2011

***Mammamia profuga*** is a species of [cave-dwelling](/source/Troglofauna) [millipede](/source/Millipede) in the family [Julidae](/source/Julidae). The only known species of the genus ***Mammamia***, it was described in 2011 from a specimen discovered in a cave in Italy.

## Description

*Mammamia profuga* measures about 26 mm (1 inch) long, and 1.5 mm wide, consisting of around 50 body segments, the last two without legs. The body and legs are pale yellow in color, without markings, and the walking legs are about 2.25 mm long, except for the first pair in males, which are small and hook-like, as in other [julidan millipedes](/source/Julida). The species completely lacks [eyes](/source/Arthropod_eye) or [ocelli](/source/Simple_eye_in_invertebrates). Like all members of the order Julida, mature males have two pairs of highly modified legs, the [gonopods](/source/Gonopod), consisting of the 8th and 9th pair, and in *Mammamia* the anterior (forward-most) gonopods are slightly longer than the posterior gonopods.[1]

## Discovery

*Mammamia profuga* was described from a single male specimen collected from a cave in [Taranto Province](/source/Province_of_Taranto), Italy in 1964. It was described as a new genus and species in 2011 by a team of Danish and Bulgarian scientists.[1]

## Etymology

The genus name *Mammamia* derives from the Italian expression "Mamma mia!" in reference to the "astonishing" features, including eyelessness and unique feature of the gonopods. The species name *profuga* is Latin for "homeless" or "refugee", a reference to the fact that the cave the species was discovered in was subsequently destroyed.[1]

## See also

- *[Titanophyllum](/source/Titanophyllum)*, another European cave-dwelling millipede described along with *Mammamia*

- *[Trichopetalum whitei](/source/Trichopetalum_whitei)*, a North American cave-dwelling millipede

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Akkari_et_al._2011_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Akkari_et_al._2011_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Akkari_et_al._2011_1-2) Akkari, N.; Stoev, P.; Enghoff, H. (2011). ["Two new cavernicolous genera of Julidae (Diplopoda, Julida), with notes on the tribe Brachyiulini and on julid subanal hooks and anchors"](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3130342). *ZooKeys* (114): 1–14. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2011ZooK..114....1A](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2011ZooK..114....1A). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.3897/zookeys.114.1490](https://doi.org/10.3897%2Fzookeys.114.1490). [PMC](/source/PMC_(identifier)) [3130342](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3130342). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [21976993](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21976993).

Taxon identifiers Mammamia Wikidata: Q18351982 Wikispecies: Mammamia GBIF: 7423517 IRMNG: 1474836 WoRMS: 893096 ZooBank: 16F56F2A-E20D-43FA-815D-2C1E242401E1

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Mammamia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammamia) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammamia?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.