User:Beegirl925/Motyxia

Article Draft

Goal 1: We want to replace the first sentence of the paragraph below with a more detailed explanation of the discovery and renaming of the species.

ORIGINAL Article:

"Xystocheir bistipita was renamed to Motyxia bistipita after it was discovered it glowed in a lab experiment. M. bistipita lives in low elevations of the Sierra Nevada mountains in California, in a hotter, drier climate than other Motyxia. The glow is believed to be a response to heat; the bioluminescent proteins help neutralize the body's byproducts caused by heat. The bioluminescence later evolved as a warning signal to predators that the body contained cyanide."

Lead

The discovery of the Motyxia bistipita after nearly 50 years revealed new characteristics about the species and genus.

Article body

In 1967, two small millipedes were discovered in San Luis Obispo, and were coined as a new species, Xystocheir bistipita. For almost 50 years, these two millipedes were the only sightings of the species, until they were rediscovered in 2013 in San Luis Obispo once again. The rediscovered specimens were brought to a lab and examined, where it was discovered that the species was bioluminescent. With this new piece of information, the Xystocheir bistipita was found to have a closer phylogenetic relationship with the Motyxia species and was renamed Motyxia bistipita.

Goal 2: We want to give more detail into the the various evolutionary hypotheses for Motyxia's bioluminescence.

ORIGINAL Article:

"Scientists familiar with Motyxia were at odds over the function of bioluminescence in Motyxia. Various functions were suggested: a nighttime aposematic warning signal, that it had no function at all, or that it inadvertently attracted predators. A field study tested the hypothesis that luminescence acts as a warning signal. Based on the results of the field experiment conducted in California, in a spot where Motyxia are native, researchers found that luminescence strongly deterred nocturnal mammalian predators: live Motyxia with their luminescence obscured by paint suffered higher attack rates, and clay models with luminescent paint had fewer attacks than unpainted models."

Lead

Scientists familiar with Motyxia were at odds over the function of bioluminescence in Motyxia and various studies and theories had been proposed.

Article body

One study found Motyxia that glowed brighter also tended to have larger cyanide glands and were thus more toxic to predators. While this implicates Motyxia's bioluminescence as an evolution for protection from predators, this study also notes that higher elevation millipedes glowed brighter. This finding led to the discovery that the more faint glow of the low-elevation millipedes was an older trait than the brighter glow of the high-elevation millipedes. Ultimately, the scientists of this study concluded that bioluminescence “may have initially evolved to cope with metabolic stress triggered by a hot, dry environment and was repurposed as a warning signal by species colonizing high-elevation habitats with greater predation risk.”

Another study provides further evidence for Motyxia's bioluminescence as a predator-deterrent. Researchers from the University of Arizona and other institutions collected 164 M. sequoiae from the Giant Sequoia National Monument and painted half to conceal their bioluminescence. Additionally, 300 clay millipedes were created, half with luminescent pigment. These specimens were placed randomly in a line overnight, with live ones tethered to the ground. In the morning, about one-third of the millipedes were attacked, primarily by southern grasshopper mice. Interestingly, luminescent millipedes experienced less than half the predation rate of their non-luminescent counterparts, hinting at a potential correlation between luminescence and reduced predation.

Article body

According to Paul E. Marek, one of the most heavily involved researchers of these millipedes, "much about Motyxia remains mysterious." There is still a lot to learn about Motyxia's mating habits, their emergences into the night, and the exact evolutionary reasons for their bioluminescence.