{{Short description|Genus of millipedes}} {{for-multi|the television program|Mammamia!|other uses}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Mammamia profuga gonopods.jpg | image_caption = The [[gonopod]]s of ''M. profuga'' | taxon = Mammamia | authority = Akkari, Stoev, & Enghoff, 2011 | type_species = '''''Mammamia profuga''''' | type_species_authority = Akkari, Stoev, & Enghoff, 2011 }}
'''''Mammamia profuga''''' is a species of [[Troglofauna|cave-dwelling]] [[millipede]] in the family [[Julidae]]. The only known species of the genus '''''Mammamia''''', it was described in 2011 from a specimen discovered in a cave in Italy.
==Description== [[File:Mammamia profuga gonopods illustrated.jpg|thumb]] ''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 [[Julida|julidan millipedes]]. The species completely lacks [[Arthropod eye|eyes]] or [[Simple eye in invertebrates|ocelli]]. Like all members of the order Julida, mature males have two pairs of highly modified legs, the [[gonopod]]s, consisting of the 8th and 9th pair, and in ''Mammamia'' the anterior (forward-most) gonopods are slightly longer than the posterior gonopods.<ref name="Akkari et al. 2011">{{cite journal|last1=Akkari | first1=N.| last2= Stoev |first2=P. |last3=Enghoff |first3= H. |year=2011 |title= Two new cavernicolous genera of Julidae (Diplopoda, Julida), with notes on the tribe Brachyiulini and on julid subanal hooks and anchors|journal= ZooKeys |issue= 114 |pages= 1–14 | doi=10.3897/zookeys.114.1490 | pmid=21976993 | pmc=3130342| doi-access=free| bibcode=2011ZooK..114....1A}}</ref>
==Discovery== ''Mammamia profuga'' was described from a single male specimen collected from a cave in [[Province of Taranto|Taranto Province]], Italy in 1964. It was described as a new genus and species in 2011 by a team of Danish and Bulgarian scientists.<ref name="Akkari et al. 2011"/>
==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.<ref name="Akkari et al. 2011"/>
==See also== *''[[Titanophyllum]]'', another European cave-dwelling millipede described along with ''Mammamia'' *''[[Trichopetalum whitei]]'', a North American cave-dwelling millipede
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q18351982}}
[[Category:Julida]] [[Category:Endemic fauna of Italy]] [[Category:Millipedes of Europe]] [[Category:Cave millipedes]] [[Category:Taxa described in 2011]] [[Category:Monotypic myriapod genera]]