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New morphological and molecular data reveal an important underestimation of species diversity and indicate evolutionary patterns in European Lepidocyrtus (Collembola : Entomobryidae)
Abstract
The correct identification of morphological species is a key task for species richness estimation of any ecosystem. Although body colour is a widely used character identifying European Lepidocyrtus species, recent investigations using molecular data have revealed that species delineation using body colour can result in an underestimation of real species diversity because of the presence of cryptic species. Lepidocyrtus violaceus is a European species characterised by its dark violet body colour. Its wide distribution leads us to suspect that several cryptic species can be present within this morphospecies. Since traditional morphological characters have appeared insufficient for real diversity identification in Lepidocyrtus, new morphological characters were needed in order to describe the cryptic diversity detected by molecular data in this genus. Pseudopores are integumentary structures present in all Lepidocyrtus species, but the distribution of these structures has not been properly described in the genus, as well as in Entomobryioidea overall. In the present work we aimed to analyse whether L. violaceus is a monophyletic entity in Europe. Moreover, we aimed to determine if the position and number of pseudopores on the different parts of the body and appendages is a phylogenetically useful character in the identification of the species or superspecific entities. Fourteen populations of L. violaceus from five European countries, and another 25 Lepidocyrtus species from nine European countries have been studied. In total, 208 specimens have been analysed morphologically and half of them were studied molecularly using sequences of the genes COXII and EF-1α. Molecular data revealed that the widely distributed Lepidocyrtus violaceus morphospecies is a polyphyletic entity in Europe. Between 6 and 12 diferent cryptic species have been detected within this European morphospecies, and only the presence of pseudopores on the basal plate of the fourth abdominal segment has been found to be a promising diagnostic character between them. A common basal pattern of pseudopore distribution has been recognised in the European members of the genus, and also a diferential pattern within each European species group. As a general trend, an increase in the number of pseudopores has been detected from the most basal to the most derived species groups in the phylogeny of the genus in Europe.
Supplementary resources (2)
... Lepidocyrtus Bourlet, 1839, is the third largest genus of Collembola with~270 described species and is cosmopolitan in distribution [1]. Recent research on this cosmopolitan genus using both morphological and molecular data has revealed the existence of abundant species complexes in Europe [4][5][6][7] and the Neotropical regions [8,9]. These findings suggest that the real diversity of Lepidocyrtus may be vastly underestimated on a global scale. ...
... To unravel the overlooked diversity of the genus, it is necessary to find new morphological characters that allow an unequivocal diagnosis of the species. The number and arrangement of pseudopores on the body and appendages may contribute to this objective [5,10]. Pseudopores are integumentary structures of unknown function described for the first time in Collembola by Gisin (1963) [11]. ...
... Since the publications of Gisin [11,12], all Lepidocyrtus species descriptions mention the 1 + 1 dorsal pseudopores from the second thoracic segment to the fourth abdominal segment and the 2 + 2 (rarely 3 + 3 or 4 + 4) pseudopores on the dorsal manubrial plate. In addition to the dorsal pseudopores found by Gisin, Mateos et al. (2021) [5] described a pattern of pseudopores in different regions of the body in many European species. The number and arrangement of pseudopores in some regions of the body can improve the taxonomic assignment of the Lepidocyrtus species and help in phylogenetic studies. ...
Panama, located in the heart of the Mesoamerican hotspot, harbors an extraordinary species diversity across the Tree of Life. The Collembola species of the genus Lepidocyrtus play an important role in soil biological processes such as decomposition, being used to monitor soil health and functional parameters. However, the limitation of morphological characters and molecular resources hampers the evaluation of local soil diversity. Here, using 30 Lepidocyrtus specimens collected in the Parque Natural Metropolitano (PNM), we unravel the diversity of this Panamanian protected area through molecular tools and new taxonomic traits. Our phylogenies, in combination with species delimitation analyses, indicate that the PNM harbors an extremely rich community of Lepidocyrtus species, two of them cited in Panama for the first time, and three of them potentially new to science. We highlight that the presence of the dental tubercle and pseudopores on the BP4 region are not monophyletic and, therefore, can be used as supplementary characters to morphologically resolve species complexes. Overall, this study sheds light on the Lepidocyrtus richness of the PNM, which acts as a shelter for Panamanian and the Mesoamerican hotspot species.
... Although Lepidocyrtus is cosmopolitan and the third largest genus of Collembola, harboring about 300 species (Bellinger et al. 1996, many ecoregions in different biomes have not sampled, so the fauna of many groups are unknown (Mari Mutt & Bellinger 1990, 1996Mari Mutt et al. 1997-2021, mainly in Colombia from where, only 38 species in 21 genera and 16 families have been registered (Cipola 2023). An example is the Lepidocyrtinae fauna which beyond L. (F.) mateosi is known by two more species, both recorded in Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca Department (Mari Mutt 1987;Cipola 2023). ...
... An example is the Lepidocyrtinae fauna which beyond L. (F.) mateosi is known by two more species, both recorded in Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca Department (Mari Mutt 1987;Cipola 2023). Lepidocyrtus nilatus Mari Mutt, 1987 known only to this locality and Lepidocyrtus nigrosetosus Folsom, 1927 described from Puerto Rico but with a wide distribution in tropical America (Mari Mutt 1987;Mari Mutt & Bellinger 1990, 1996Mari Mutt et al. 1997-2021Cipola 2023). ...
... The macrochaetotaxy simplified formula for Lepidocyrtinae follows Gisin (1964) with modifications, as inner macrochaetae for Th II-Abd IV, except Abd II (inner + lateral). The distribution pattern of pseudopores follows Mateos et al. (2021). Symbols used to depict the chaetotaxy are presented in figure 1. Chaetae labels and other important taxonomic abbreviations are marked in bold on the text. ...
Herein we propose a new name, Lepidocyrtus (Fractocyrtus) amazonaensis nom. nov. Cipola, to replace L. americanus Cipola & Bellini 2018, a combination preoccupied by Marlatt (1896). In addition to new geographic records for the
species, two new species of Fractocyrtus are described: L. (Fractocyrtus) andensis sp. nov. from the Colombian Andes and L. (Fractocyrtus) chicomendesi sp. nov. from the Occidental Brazilian Amazon. The new species differs from other
members of the subgenus in body color, dorsal chaetotaxy of the head, chaetotaxy of the third and fourth abdominal segment, postlabial chaetotaxy, trochanteral organ, collophore and furcula, beyond morphology on the lateral process of the labial papilla E. New patterns of body pseudopores are described and added to the new diagnosis for the subgenus. Fractocyrtus now has four species, with distribution from the Andes to the Oriental Brazilian Amazon.
... For tergal specialized chaetae (S-chaetae) Zhang F. & Deharveng (2015). For pseudopores distribution Mateos et al. (2021). ...
... It should be noted that in the Lepidocyrtus species described so far, when they have a mesothoracic macrochaeta, it is always p3. In the European fauna, this mesothoracic macrochaeta is present in all species of the lusitanicus-group and lanuginosus-group (see Mateos et al. 2021). Out of Europe, the only species in which the presence of the mesothoracic p3 macrochaeta has been described are L. vireticulus Mari Mutt, 1986 andL. ...
... Mateos (2011) defined the L. lignorum-group, andMateos et al. (2018) modified this definition by adding one character of dorsal cephalic macrochaetae. Also, acording to Mateos et al. (2021), the presence of a ventral pseudopore in Ant.II and Ant.III is characteristic of the group. With the data provided in the present paper, a new modification of the group definition is needed regarding dorsal body macrochaetae formula. ...
Springtails are a group of hexapods whose true diversity is currently underestimated. This is because the morphological characters normally used in species diagnosis do not have the necessary resolution. This situation is especially evident in Entomobryidae, which is currently the most diverse family of springtails. The combination of morphological and molecular data has allowed us to describe a new species of the genus Lepidocyrtus, based on specimens from Northern Italy, as well as to redefine the diagnosis of the European Lepidocyrtus lignorum-group.
... , with ~250 species, is one of the genera of springtails with a greater number of species, and some investigations using molecular markers have demonstrated the presence of an important cryptic diversity within the genus (Cicconardi et al. 2010, Zhang B. et al. 2018. Morphological characters currently used in species descriptions of Lepidocyrtus seem insufficient to describe the diversity discovered by molecules, and looking for new characters is a necessary task (Mateos et al. 2021). ...
... Recently, Mateos et al. (2021) detected three haplotypes within the European lignorum-group that clearly differed from the haplotypes of the known species in the group. Each of these three lineages had a characteristic colour pattern, and was named as Lepidocyrtus spJ, spK, and spL, respectively. ...
... For tergal specialized chaetae (S-chaetae) Zhang F. & Deharveng (2015). For pseudopores distribution Mateos et al. (2021). ...
Lepidocyrtus is one of the genera of springtails with the largest number of species in the world. Molecular studies carried out to date on this genus have revealed the existence of a large number of cryptic species. Molecular and morphological studies done with four European populations of the genus have allowed us to describe three new species within the L. lignorum-group: L. fuscocephalus sp. nov., L. milagrosae sp. nov. and L. semicoloratus sp. nov. One of these species is made up of two geographically separate populations that represent two clearly separate but morphologically indistinguishable haplotypes.
... For the taxonomic descriptions the following terms and codes were used: For dorsal cephalic chaetotaxy the AMS nomenclature system (see Soto-Adames 2010); for interocular chaetotaxy Mari-Mutt (1986); for labial palp and lateral process of outer labial papilla Fjellberg (1999); for Ant.I-organ Hüther (1986); for clypeal chaetotaxy Yoshii & Suhardjono (1992); for labial chaetotaxy Gisin (1964b); for postlabial chaetotaxy Soto-Adames (2010); for dorsal chaetotaxy systems of thoracic and abdominal segments Gisin (1967), Szeptycki (1972Szeptycki ( , 1979 and Zhang et al. (2019); for tergal specialised chaetae (S-chaetae) Zhang & Deharveng (2015); for Ant.IV T-chaeta, and Abd. IV ratio T2-T4/C1p Mateos & Greenslade (2015), and for pseudopore distribution Mateos et al. (2021). ...
... On Abd.IV chaetae C1p, T3 and D1p are usually arranged in a line, with T3 occupying a central position among the other two; but in species of L. precisus-group chaeta T3 is located below C1p, which gives rise to a triangular arrangement between the three chaetae. There is evidence that the presence of psp on different parts of the body has a phylogenetic signal (Mateos et al. 2021), thus the presence of two psp in the lateral region of the Abd. IV in species of the L. praecisus-group could be a good character to diagnose the monophyly of the group. ...
... For the taxonomic descriptions the following terms and codes were used: For dorsal cephalic chaetotaxy the AMS nomenclature system (see Soto-Adames 2010); for interocular chaetotaxy Mari-Mutt (1986); for labial palp and lateral process of outer labial papilla Fjellberg (1999); for Ant.I-organ Hüther (1986); for clypeal chaetotaxy Yoshii & Suhardjono (1992); for labial chaetotaxy Gisin (1964b); for postlabial chaetotaxy Soto-Adames (2010); for dorsal chaetotaxy systems of thoracic and abdominal segments Gisin (1967), Szeptycki (1972Szeptycki ( , 1979 and Zhang et al. (2019); for tergal specialised chaetae (S-chaetae) Zhang & Deharveng (2015); for Ant.IV T-chaeta, and Abd. IV ratio T2-T4/C1p Mateos & Greenslade (2015), and for pseudopore distribution Mateos et al. (2021). ...
... On Abd.IV chaetae C1p, T3 and D1p are usually arranged in a line, with T3 occupying a central position among the other two; but in species of L. precisus-group chaeta T3 is located below C1p, which gives rise to a triangular arrangement between the three chaetae. There is evidence that the presence of psp on different parts of the body has a phylogenetic signal (Mateos et al. 2021), thus the presence of two psp in the lateral region of the Abd. IV in species of the L. praecisus-group could be a good character to diagnose the monophyly of the group. ...
The genus Lepidocyrtus Bourlet is currently considered to consist of eight subgenera of which Setogaster Salmon is one. Here we describe three new species in this subgenus, L. agricolus sp. nov., L. coorongensis sp. nov., and L. nashi sp. nov. It appears to be the most widespread and numerically dominant subgenus of Lepidocyrtus in Australia. The three new species live in different habitats and in different parts of the continent. It is assumed they are endemic species, one is likely to be a short range endemic. The characters and a list of species of the Lepidocyrtus praecisus-group, and an identification key for the Australian species of genus Lepidocyrtus are provided.
... Pseudopores. Following the nomenclature of Mateos et al. (2021) the pseudopores observed are: antenna: Ant I, 1; Ant II, 1; Ant III, 1. Head dorsal (cephalic int Ant I), 1. Body dorsal: Th II, 1; Th III, 1; Abd I, 1; Abd II, 1; Abd III, 1; Abd IV, 1. Body ventral: Th I, 1; Th II, 1; Th III, 1; Abd I -ant. VT base, 1; Abd I -post. ...
Three new species of soil Collembola from both agricultural lands (vineyards and olive orchards) and a natural habitat (beech forest) located in Sicily (Italy) are described: Superodontella eleonorae sp. nov., first record of this genus for Italy; Lepidocyrtus rapitalai sp. nov. and Pseudosinella francae sp. nov..
... Taxonomic evolution, affinities, boundaries, and validity were investigated at different scales, confirming or refuting previous hypotheses. Starting from a smaller taxonomical scope, intra-and interspecific levels of genetic variation were investigated to provide data on species delimitation, population structuring, and the existence of cryptic species [4,[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33]. Based on similar methodologies, species-groups affinities and validity were also analyzed [34][35][36][37]. ...
Mitogenomes represent useful tools for investigating the phylogeny of many metazoan clades. Regarding Collembola, the use of mitogenomics has already shown promising results, but few published works include sufficient taxon sampling to study its evolution and systematics on a broader scale. Here, we present a phylogenetic study based on the mitogenomes of 124 species from 24 subfamilies, 16 families, and four orders—one of the most comprehensive datasets used in a molecular study of Collembola evolution to date—and compare our results with the trees from recently published papers and traditional systematic hypotheses. Our main analysis supported the validity of the four orders and the clustering of Poduromorpha with Entomobryomorpha (the traditional Arthropleona). Our data also supported the split of Symphypleona s. str. into the Appendiciphora and Sminthuridida suborders, and the division of the Neelipleona into two subfamilies: Neelinae and Neelidinae subfam. nov. On the other hand, the traditional Symphypleona s. lat., Isotomoidea, and all the Isotomidae subfamilies were refuted by our analyses, indicating a need for a systematic revision of the latter family. Though our results are endorsed by many traditional and recent systematic findings, we highlight a need for additional mitogenomic data for some key taxa and the inclusion of nuclear markers to resolve some residual problematic relationships.
... At the simplest level, we have broadened the known distributions for a number of poorly documented species, and begun to reveal some meaningful biogeographic patterns in some. More significantly, these data reveal extraordinary levels of intraspecific diversity in nearly all unambiguously identifiable species, as has become typical in Collembola intraspecific work [37,[67][68][69][78][79][80], indicating long residence times for these in the region, and high potential for the presence of cryptic species. While we do not see much basis for the high levels of splitting that most automated delimitation methods suggested, almost all morphologically well-defined species contain highly divergent, geographically coherent clades that would qualify at least as evolutionarily significant units (ESUs) and as candidates for separate conservation consideration. ...
Collembola, commonly known as springtails, are important detritivores, abundant in leaf litter and soil globally. Springtails are wingless hexapods with many North American species having wide distributions ranging from as far as Alaska to Mexico. Here, we analyze the occurrence and intraspecific diversity of springtails with a globular body shape (Symphypleona and Neelipleona), in southern high Appalachia, a significant biodiversity hotspot. The peaks of high Appalachia represent ‘sky islands’ due to their physical isolation, and they host numerous endemic species in other taxa. We surveyed globular Collembola through COI metabarcoding, assessing geographic and genetic diversity across localities and species. Intraspecific diversity in globular Collembola was extremely high, suggesting that considerable cryptic speciation has occurred. While we were able to associate morphospecies with described species in most of the major families in the region (Dicyrtomidae, Katiannidae, Sminthuridae, and Sminthurididae), other families (Neelidae, and Arrhopalitidae) are in more pressing need of taxonomic revision before species identities can be confirmed. Due to poor representation in databases, and high intraspecific variability, no identifications were accomplished through comparison with available DNA barcodes.
... However, species delimitation can be especially challenging for taxa that are morphologically homogeneous among species but extremely genetically structured among populations (Bond and Stockman 2008;Hamilton et al. 2011;Satler et al. 2013;Leavitt et al. 2015). This is because delimiting such taxa exclusively using morphological characters often underestimates species diversity (Fouquet et al. 2007;Renner et al. 2017;Mateos et al. 2021). Conversely, defining species solely on morphology may potentially overestimate species diversity in taxa that exhibit considerable intraspecific differentiation (Hundsdoerfer et al. 2019). ...
Accurate species delimitation is crucial for our understanding of evolution, biodiversity and conservation. However, morphology-based species delimitation alone appears to be prone to taxonomic errors and ineffective for taxa with high interspecific morphological homogeneity or intraspecific morphological variations, as is the case for mesothele and mygalomorph spiders. Combined molecular–morphology species delimitation has shown great potential to delimit species boundaries in such ancient lineages. In the present study, molecular and morphological evidence were integrated to delimit species of the primitively segmented spider genus Songthela Ono, 2000. The cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene (COI) was sequenced for 192 novel specimens belonging to 12 putative morphospecies. The evolutionary relationships within Songthela and the 12-morphospecies hypothesis were tested in two steps – species discovery and species validation – using four single-locus species delimitation approaches. All species delimitation analyses supported the 12-species hypothesis. Phylogenetic analyses yielded three major clades in Songthela, which are consistent with morphology. Accordingly, we assigned 19 known and 11 new species (S. aokoulong, sp. nov., S. bispina, sp. nov., S. dapo, sp. nov., S. huayanxi, sp. nov., S. lianhe, sp. nov., S. lingshang, sp. nov., S. multidentata, sp. nov., S. tianmen, sp. nov., S. unispina, sp. nov., S. xiujian, sp. nov., S. zizhu, sp. nov.) of Songthela to three species-groups: the bispina-group, the multidentata-group and the unispina-group. Another new species, S. zimugang, sp. nov., is not included in any species groups, but forms a sister lineage to the bispina- and unispina-groups. These results elucidate a high species diversity of Songthela in a small area and demonstrate that integrating morphology with COI-based species delimitation is fast and cost-effective in delimiting species boundaries. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:AF0F5B31-AFAF-4861-9844-445AE8678B67
Along with some studies on soil fauna in various Sicilian sites, both agricultural lands and typical Mediterranean habitats, particular attention was paid to the Collembolan. Specific identification allowed to assess the occurrence in Sicily of 39 species not previously recorded, belonging to 10 families: Hypogastruridae (six species), Brachystomellidae (one species), Neanuridae (five species), Onychiuridae (three species), Tullbergiidae (seven species), Isotomidae (nine species), Entomobryidae (three species), Cyphoderidae (one species), Dicyrtomidae (one species), and Katiannidae (one species). Of these 39 species, 21 are new also for Italy. Furthermore, this is the first record of the genus Doutnatcia Rusek, 1974 for the fauna of Italy. The discovery of such a number of new species for Sicily (i.e. 35 % of those known) and Italy by sampling a limited number of habitats, shows that the knowledge relating to this group of arthropods in Sicily is still very scarce. Key Words: Soil Fauna, Soil Arthropods, Mediterranean, Agroecosystems
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Lepidocyrtus lusitanicus is one of the species with greater color pattern variability within the genus Lepidocyrtus. Four subspecies have been described in relation to its body color variation. The study of various populations of Lepidocyrtus from the Iberian Peninsula has allowed me to describe the new chromatic form L. lusitanicus form A, as well as the new species L. bilobatus, which is very closely related to L. lusitanicus, and also shows high color pattern variability. The high similarity among species L. lusitanicus, L. selvaticus and L. bilobatus sp. nov., the high color pattern variability of their populations, the overlapping geographical distribution of many studied populations, and the presence of three dorsal macrochaetae between trichobothria m2 and a5 of the second abdominal tergum, led me to define the group Lepidocyrtus lusitanicus species-complex. This group included the three abovementioned species with all of their color forms.
DNA sequence data and phylogenies are useful tools for species delimitation, especially in taxa comprising cryptic species. The Lepidocyrtus lanuginosus species group (Collembola: Entomobryidae) comprises three morphospecies and distinct cryptic species. We applied three DNA-based methods to delimit species boundaries in the L. lanuginosus species group across central and southern Europe. Using cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and II, we identified gaps of genetic distances that indicate species boundaries and found 10 and 9 distinct genetic lineages in L. cyaneus and L. lanuginosus, respectively. The nuclear gene elongation factor 1-a delimited 89% of the lineages but 28S rDNA (D1-2 domain) was too conserved for this purpose. The phylogenetic trees showed that L. cyaneus and L. lanuginosus are polyphyletic, suggesting that body colour is insufficient for delimiting species in the L. lanuginosus species group. Our study challenges the current morphology-based species delimitation in the L. lanuginosus species group and suggests that molecular approaches are needed for fast and accurate determination of Collembola species in both taxonomic and ecological studies. Overall, the results suggest that wide geographic sampling combined with molecular phylogenetic approaches is needed to delimit species and to understand the full range of cryptic diversity in Collembola.
Additional keywords: barcoding, colour, cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and II, elongation factor 1-a, ribosomal subunit 28S rDNA D1-2 domain, springtail.
Tyranonoseira is revised and new diagnostic characters to the genus and its species are proposed. The genus is now characterised by distinct chaetotaxic patterns of head, in lacking M2, S1, S4, S5 macrochaetae and Th II to Abd IV with 21–27, 7, 0, 3, 1 and 8–10 central macrochaetae, as well as anterior legs of males with modified chaetae. The five species of the genus are redescribed based on type material: T. raptora Zeppelini & Bellini, T. bicolorcornuta Bellini & Zeppelini, T. diabolica Bellini & Godeiro, T. gladiata Zeppelini & Lima and T. sex Bellini & Zeppelini. We include an identification key and comparison of the species. The dorsal chaetotaxy is similar for all species. Characters omitted from the original descriptions such as chaetotaxy of the clypeus, labral papillae, collophore chaetae and manubrial formula are now used to distinguish species more clearly. We compare the morphology of Seira and Tyrannoseira using dorsal chaetotaxy and the
modified chaetae on anterior legs of males.
The most highly troglomorphic Collembola of Southeast Asia, Coecobryasirindhornaesp. n. , is described from a cave in Satun province, Thai Peninsula. It is characterised by its large size, extremely elongated antennae, relatively long legs and furca, reduced macrochaetotaxy, very long and slender claw, pointed tenent hair, four sublobal hairs on outer maxillary lobe, and the absence of eyes and pigmentation. A checklist of Thai Coecobrya species and a key to the troglomorphic species of Thailand are provided. Troglomorphy and conservation of cave habitats in the area are discussed.
Here we present a survey of Seira fauna from Iberian Peninsula and Canary Islands, including the description of three new species from Spain: Seira barrai sp. nov., Seira betica sp. nov. and Seira burgersi sp. nov., the latter with unprecedented antennal morphology for Seira. Five species from Western Europe are redescribed and their dorsal detailed chaetotaxy is revealed for the first time: S. domestica (Nicolet), S. dinizi Gama, S. ferrarii Parona, S. mantis Zeppelini & Bellini and S. pini Jordana & Arbea, the first two from type locality, and the latter two based on analysis of the type material. A note on chaetal interpretation of the first abdominal segment for Seira is presented. An identification key to 31 species with known dorsal chaetotaxy from Western Palearctic region is also provided, including a discussion on dense macrochaetotaxy present in Palearctic and Oriental species and its reduction in species from others biogeographic regions.
The genus Lepidocyrtus is fairly well explored in Hungary and was up to now represented by 18 species. Systematic mesofauna survey of a swamp woodland gave us the opportunity to describe the new species, L. florae sp. nov., characterized by the dark blue color, the dorsal macrochaetae formula A0A2aA2A3S3Pa5/00/0101+2 and the absence of scales on the antennae. Related species L. arrabonicus, L. pallidus, L. pseudosinelloides and L. weidneri were also revised with particular attention to clarify the interpretation of the dorsal chaetotaxy of the head. The observed variability in abdominal chaetotaxy of L. pallidus suggests that the only character differentiating between this species and L. weidneri is the labial chaetotaxy, with chaeta r (in L. pallidus) and chaeta R (in L. weidneri). An identification key to European Lepidocyrtus species with dorsal trunk macrochaetae formula 00/0101+2 is also provided.
A new species, Dicranocentrus hainanicus Ren & Zhang, sp. n., is described from Hainan Province, China. Complete tergal chaetotaxy including microchaetae is illustrated and discussed. It is characterized by having the dental spines arranged in 2–3 rows, two inner teeth on unguis, 5, 2, 2 central macrochaetae on Abd. I–III, two inner S-chaetae on Abd. V displaced anteriorly, and the additional microchaetae associated with the S-chaeta acc.p6 on Th. II–Abd. II. It is most similar to D. chenae Ma, Chen & Soto-Adames but differs from the latter in the number and arrangement of dental spines and the absence of acrochaeta
Pa1 on dorsal head. A key to the Chinese species of the genus is provided.
Here a new subgenus of Lepidocyrtus Bourlet from South America is proposed. Fractocyrtus subgen.n. differs from other subgenera by tergal polychaetosis, dental tubercle truncate and dentes with numerous spine-like chaetae. Four new species of Lepidocyrtus are described, two of Setogaster Salmon and two of Fractocyrtus subgen.n. Lepidocyrtus (S.) amazonicus sp.n. and L. (S.) multisensillatus sp.n. are similar to L. nigrosetosus Folsom by basomedian field with chaetae smooth and dental tubercle rounded, but differ in dorsal chaetotaxy. Lepidocyrtus (F.) americanus sp.n. and L. (F.) mateosi sp.n. are similar by presence of numerous dental spines, but differ in chaetotaxy. Due to inconsistencies concerning scales on appendages of Lepidocyrtus subgenera, four synonyms are proposed, and the characteristics diagnostic to subgenera are shape and presence of dental tubercle, dental spines, mucronal spinelet and apical bulb of fourth antennal segment. An identification key to subgenera is also provided.
European Lepidocyrtus species are usually grouped into five species-groups within two subgenera, Lepidocyrtus s.s. and Lanocyrtus, defined by the distribution of scale covering and dorsal head and body macrochaetotaxy. The discovery of several Lepidocyrtus populations with morphological characters intermediate between two species-groups suggested the need for the present study to test whether molecular data provide support to these groups. The morphology and gene sequences of 110 specimens belonging to 19 species of European Lepidocyrtus have been studied. Our molecular results are congruent with the distribution of the European species into the five groups established in the literature on the basis of morphological characters, but also indicated that subgenus Lanocyrtus is paraphyletic while subgenus Lepidocyrtus s.s. is monophyletic. A new species, Lepidocyrtus intermedius, is described, and a redefinition of European species-groups is proposed based on chaetotaxy.
High intraspecific genetic variance in Collembola indicates that cryptic species are widespread and this chal- lenges the delimitation of morphologically defined species. Lepidocyrtus lanuginosus (Gmelin, 1788) is a widely distributed habitat generalist with high genetic variance between populations from different locations in Europe. In this study we investigated the genetic variance of L. lanuginosus from three dominant habitat types in Central Europe, i.e. forests, grasslands and arable fields, using four molecular markers (ribosomal subunit 28S rDNA D1–2 domain, elongation factor 1-α, cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and subunit II). The results suggest that L. lanuginosus separates into three major genetic lineages with one of these lineages being close to Lepidocyrtus cyaneus Tullberg, 1871. The phylogenetic tree based on the concatenated data set of four genes suggests that all lineages of L. lanuginosus are monophyletic. Selective colonization of the three habitats by these lineages in- dicates that they are sorted by habitats: one lineage was common and occurred in each of the three habitat types but preferentially in arable land, the second was restricted to forest, and the third, although rare, preferentially occurred in grassland. Our results indicate that genetic markers allow delineating cryptic species in Collembola, which are widespread, morphologically coherent and differ in the habitats they colonize. The existence of cryptic species/lineages in widely distributed Collembola species that sort by habitat type calls for studies integrating genetic structure and ecological traits.
Three new species of Entomobrya Rondani, 1861 from China are described: E. leviseta sp. nov. and E. polychaeta sp. nov. from Shaanxi Province and E. dingi sp. nov. from Yunnan Province. This is the first report of Entomobrya from Shaanxi Province. Entomobrya leviseta sp. nov. is characterised by prelabral smooth chaetae on the labrum; E. polychaeta sp. nov. by three pairs of longitudinal dark blue stripes from Th. II to Abd. III and eight lateral mac on Abd. III; and E. dingi sp. nov. by only a little pigment on the body and 5 central mac on And. II & III. A key to all Chinese species of Entomobrya is given.
Herein one new species of Amazhomidia Cipola & Bellini from Brazilian Amazon is described and illustrated: A. thaisae sp. nov., plus one specimen no nominal due to lack of material for formal descriptionend point. Acanthocyrtus guianiensis Womersley is redescribed and transferred to Amazhomidia by presence of prelabral chaetae bifurcated, macrochaetotaxy pattern, manubrium laterally with long distal mac finely ciliate and dens ventrally unscaled. Acanthocyrtus croceus Womersley is confirmed as a junior synonymy of A. guianiensis. The juvenile description of Amazhomidia ducke is provided, and changes in chaetotaxy nomenclature are made based on them. Acanthocyrtus lineatus Womersley is redescribed based on type material and new diagnostic characters are revealed. Identification keys for both genera and a comparison for Entomobryinae genera with dental spines are provided. Amazhomidia has now three and Acanthocyrtus Handschin six valid species.
Two species of Lepidocyrtus Bourlet have been studied. L. peisonis Traser & Christian, 1992 has been redescribed based on the type material and newly collected specimens. This species is characterized by dorsal macrochaetae formula R0R1sR1R2So/00/0101+3, truncate unguiculi and a newly observed character missing in the original description: a lateral tuft of long filiform chaetae on abd. III, never described for any European species of subgenera Lanocyrtus and Lepidocyrtus s.str. L. mariani Traser & Dányi, 2008 has been revised based on the holotype and recently collected specimens. L. mariani is defined by the dorsal macrochaetae formula R0R1sR1So/00/0101+3 and the presence of small pseudopori on the apical membranous area of antennal segments, lateral region of th. III–abd. IV and dorsal surface of dens.
This article describes several features in the MAFFT online service for multiple sequence alignment (MSA). As a result of recent advances in sequencing technologies, huge numbers of biological sequences are available and the need for MSAs with large numbers of sequences is increasing. To extract biologically relevant information from such data, sophistication of algorithms is necessary but not sufficient. Intuitive and interactive tools for experimental biologists to semiautomatically handle large data are becoming important. We are working on development of MAFFT toward these two directions. Here, we explain (i) the Web interface for recently developed options for large data and (ii) interactive usage to refine sequence data sets and MSAs.
Available information on the bees of the genus Sphecodes Latreille 1804 in Central Asia is summarized. Twenty-eight species are currently known from this area. Sphecodes turanicus Astafurova & Proshchalykin, sp. nov. is described from Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan. Eight species: Sphecodes anatolicus Warncke 1992, S. crassus Thomson 1870, S. croaticus Meyer 1922, S. ferruginatus Hagens 1882, S. miniatus Hagens 1882, S. pellucidus Smith 1845, S. rufiventris (Panzer 1798), and S. spinulosus Hagens 1875 are newly recorded from Central Asia. The status of S. nurekensis Warncke 1992, stat. nov. is raised to species level; S. tadschicus Blüthgen 1935, stat. resurr. is reinstated as a valid taxon. A lectotype is designated for S. gracilior Morawitz 1893. Illustrated keys to both males and females of all species known from Central Asia are provided.
Detailed and fully illustrated redescription of Seira pallidipes Reuter, 1895 is given based on specimens from the type
locality. Examination of further specimens from the type locality of Seira pillichi Stach, 1930 has shown the identity of
these two species justifying their synonymization: that Seira pillichi Stach, 1930 is a junior subjective synonym of Seira
pallidipes Reuter, 1895 (syn. nov.). Variability in chaetotaxy is documented and discussed as well.
Knowledge on Neotropical Paronellinae (Paronellidae) grew fast during the last years. Here we present an identification key and diagnoses to six valid genera, describe two new species: Salina zhanghi sp. nov. and Trogolaphysa ernesti sp. nov., redescribe Campylothorax mitrai Bellini & Meneses, and present notes on Brazilian fauna of Paronellinae. Salina zhanghi sp. nov. is very similar to Salina tristani Denis and S. hermana Mari Mutt in ventral head characters and mucro shape, but differs in dorsal chaetotaxy among other features. Trogolaphysa ernesti sp. nov. is similar to T. quisqueyana Soto-Adames, Jordana & Baquero in labial and dorsal chaetotaxy, empodial complex morphology and mucro shape, but it is different in color pattern, antennal morphology, and trochanteral and collophore chaetotaxy. After redescription C. mitrai most diagnostic features are the combination of dorsal head chaetotaxy and color pattern.
Three new species of the genus Coecobrya are described from caves in the Thai Peninsula for the first time: C. cavicta sp. Nov. and C. polychaeta sp. Nov. from Satun Province, and C. chumphonensis sp. Nov. from Chumphon Province. These species differ in antennal length, clypeal chaetae, labial palp, sublobal chaetae of maxillary outer lobe, labial and postlabial chaetae, claw, ventral tube, manubrial plaque, and dorsal cephalic and tergal chaetotaxy. They are similar to C. annulata Zhang, Bedos &Deharveng, 2016 but differ from the latter in the combination of antennal length, claw and dorsal chaetotaxy. DNA barcoding COI sequences are provided for two species and three populations and key to the Thai species is also given. One population, which exhibits a great genetic distance (0.219-0.239) and minor but stable morphological differences from C. polychaeta sp. Nov., cannot be accepted as a full species as the evidence is insufficient.
Systematic soil fauna survey of riverine and swamp woodland habitats in West Hungary provided the opportunity to describe the new species L. isabelleae sp. nov. belonging to the the Lepidocyrtus pallidus-serbicus group. The new species is characterized by the dorsal macrochaetae formula R0R1sR1R2STSo/00/0101+2, the absence of scales on the antennae and legs beyond coxae and an additional dorsolateral macrochaeta (a7) on Abd. III. On this occasion, the L. pallidus-serbicus group has been revised and reinterpreted, and a differentiation key for the derived L. serbicus group has been developed.
PartitionFinder 2 is a program for automatically selecting best-fit partitioning schemes and models of evolution for phylogenetic analyses. PartitionFinder 2 is substantially faster and more efficient than version 1, and incorporates many new methods and features. These include the ability to analyze morphological datasets, new methods to analyze genome-scale datasets, new output formats to facilitate interoperability with downstream software, and many new models of molecular evolution. PartitionFinder 2 is freely available under an open source license and works on Windows, OSX, and Linux operating systems. It can be downloaded from www.robertlanfear.com/partitionfinder The source code is available at https://github.com/brettc/partitionfinder.
Troglobius albertonoi sp. nov. (Collembola: Paronellidae: Cyphoderinae) from the Brazilian Amazon is described and illustrated. The shape of the mucro and unguis resemble those of T. ferroicus Zeppelini, Silva & Palacios-Vargas, recently described from Brazil, but the chaetotaxy is distinct. This is the 4th species of the genus and the 3rd from Brazil. Variation within the genus Troglobius of the dorsal chaetotaxy and the geographic distribution are discussed, and an identification key to the species is provided. Troglobius albertonoi sp. nov. is the only known epigeous species of the genus.
Coecobrya anaguilae sp. nov., a new species of springtail from Cango Caves, South Africa is described and illustrated. The new species is similar to other species of tenebricosa-group such as C. communis (Chen & Christiansen), C. edenticulata (Handschin), and C. tropicalis Qu, Chen & Greenslade in some elements of dorsal chaetotaxy, absence of eyes, unguis with one unpaired median tooth, and manubrium without smooth chaetae, but differs from them in dorsal head, mesothoracic and collophore chaetotaxy. This is the first species of Coecobrya described from Africa as well as the first indisputable record of the genus for the whole continent. In this study an updated key to the species of the genus is provided, adding 14 species to the most recently published identification key. We also discuss some aspects of distribution and evolution of Coecobrya.
The genus Lepidocyrtus was previously represented by 17 species in Hungary, including four species with locus typicus in this country. Opportunistic sampling in mid-mountain grassland and forest habitats resulted in records of several species from the L. lignorum group and allowed to describe the new species L. traseri sp. nov. The L. lignorum group, established and named after the eponymic species, is composed by a total of 11 species. The main characteristics shared by every species in this group are the dorsal body macrochaetotaxy R0R1R2/00/0101+3 and the presence of scales on the antennae and legs. The new species is close to L. lignorum (Fabricius, 1793) and L. violaceus (Geoffroy, 1762) but differs from them by the color pattern, number of interocular scales, type of labral papillae and the number of inner setae on the manubrial plate. An identification key is given for differentiating all species of this group.
Campylothorax viruaensis sp. nov., a new species of paronellid springtail from the Amazon Rainforest, state of Roraima, Brazil, is herein described and illustrated. The new species is characterized by: pale yellow body with dark blue pigment on abdomen III and IV; dorsal chaetotaxy presenting S5i macrochaeta on head, mesothorax with 6-8 macrochaetae in p1-4 complex; A5 as macro or microchaeta on abdomen IV; collophore anterior side with 4+4 anterior long chaetae; and mucro with five teeth. Other characteristics usually omitted in traditional descriptions for the genus are presented such as morphology of apical region of third and fourth antennal segments, labial papillae, chaetotaxy of subcoxae, collophore, abdomen V and ventral region of head. Trunk specialized chaetae (S-chaetae) are also presented. Campylothorax viruaensis sp. nov. is the fourth record of Campylothorax from Brazil, the second from the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest and the first from the state of Roraima.
A new monotypic genus of Entomobryinae from Brazilian Amazon is described and illustrated. Amazhomidia gen. nov. is similar to other genera of the subfamily, especially to Sinhomidia Zhang, in presence of apically pointed scales on body dorsally and spines on dens. It differs from all other genera of Entomobryinae by the combination of: bifurcate prelabral chaetae, cephalic groove with scale-like chaetae and two transverse rows macrochaetae present on anterior central region of the abdominal IV segment. Amazhomidia ducke sp. nov., the type species of the new genus is described. An identification key to the genera of Entomobryidae with scales and dental spines is also provided.
The detailed external morphology of the labial palp is given a consistent nomenclature, based on a survey of more than 300 species from almost all known families of Collembola. The most complete and least differentiated palp is found in Isotomidae, and consists of five apical papillae, one lateral process, 16 unsocketed guard setae, and a variable number of proximal normal setae. In addition a group of three hypostomal unsocketed setae is attached to the hyaline plate at tip of the palp. Evolution of the palp involves reduction, differentiation and translocation of the various structures. All essential parts of the palp are primary characters, being present in the first instar juvenile. An exception is the first instar juvenile of Megalothorax which has a very simple palp, as yet unseen in other Collembola. The analysis suggests an early pre-Poduromorpha origin of the Entomobryomorpha-line. The survey, presented in six tables and 88 figures, offers many new diagnostic characters for identifying species and species groups.
The taxonomic status of the subgenera of Lepidocyrtus Bourlet is confused. Currently ten subgenera are recognised but their separation, using the existing set of diagnostic characters, is not clear. Collections over the last forty years have shown that species of Setogaster Salmon, originally described as a genus (Trichogaster Handschin) and currently considered a subgenus of Lepidocyrtus, are common and widespread in Australia. The diagnostic characters of Setogaster, as given by Handschin, are: 1) the basal mucronal spine with spinelet; 2) lack of scales on antennae, legs, ventral tube and dorsal region of manubrium; and, for some species, 3) tufts of long filaments laterally on abdomen III. These three diagnostic characters for Setogaster are shared with some other subgenera, making their delimitation unclear. We provide here an array of new characters that are associated with Handschin's characters which separate Setogaster from all European species of the subgenera Lanocyrtus and Lepidocyrtus s. str. On this basis we define subgenus Setogaster more in detail, redescribe some species in the subgenus, corroborate the presence of the subgenus in many Australian localities, and confirm three records of exotic, introduced species in Australia. Lepidocyrtus nigrofasciatus Womersley, Lepidocyrtus praecisus Schött, and the Hawaiian Lepidocyrtus kuakea Christiansen & Bellinger, are placed in Setogaster subgenus; Lepidocyrtus (Trichogaster) pallida Salmon from Singapore is placed in the subgenus Acrocyrtus; Merapicyrtus Yoshii & Suhardjono is considered a synonym of Setogaster.
The species Heteromurus (Verhoeffiella) absoloni Kseneman, 1938 is redescribed in detail and characterized by its barcode, based on specimens from its type locality in Montenegro. A neotype is designated. Dorsal S-chaetotaxy is given for the first time in the subgenus Verhoeffiella. Chaeta morphology and distribution are thoroughly analyzed, in particular on antennae where 12 chaetal types are recognized. Several morphological features are newly described for the genus and for Heteromurinae. The widely disjunct distribution of the species is approached through morphological and molecular comparison of specimens from the type locality in Montenegro and from the Catalan population. We established that this last record is a new species described here as Heteromurus (Verhoeffiella) gamae sp. nov. New combination is proposed Heteromurus (Verhoeffiella) constantinellus (uri & Lui in Lui, uri & Miti 2007) comb. nov. A table of all species of the subgenus is provided. The taxonomic status of Verhoeffiella and the problems of species discriminations in the subgenus are discussed.
The chaetotaxy of 15 species of eastern North American Entomobrya is redescribed in order to determine potential characters for the diagnosis of cryptic lineages and evaluate the diagnostic and phylogenetic utility of chaetotaxy. As a result, four new species (E. citrensis Katz & Soto-Adames, sp. n., E. jubata Katz & Soto-Adames, sp. n., E. neotenica Katz & Soto-Adames, sp. n. and E. unifasciata Katz & Soto- Adames, sp. n.) are described, and new diagnoses are provided for E. assuta Folsom, E. atrocincta Schött, E. decemfasciata (Packard), E. ligata Folsom, E. multifasciata (Tullberg), and E. quadrilineata (Bueker). Furthermore, previously undocumented levels of intraspecific variation in macrosetal pattern are reported, tempering the exclusive use of chaetotaxy for species delimitation. Phylogenetic relationships, estimated using both morphological and molecular data, indicate that Entomobrya is likely paraphyletic. The phylogenies also suggest that unreliable character homology, likely fostered by Entomobrya’s profusion of macrosetae, may limit the phylogenetic utility of chaetotaxy in groups characterized by an abundance of dorsal macrosetae.
Studies in soil meiofauna with traditional methods are highly laborious and identification exclusively by means of morphological traits usually underestimates species richness. Although the mitochondrial DNA Cytochrome c Oxidase subunit I gene (COI, CO1, cox1, coxI) has been proposed as a standard DNA barcode for animals, nuclear ribosomal DNA markers such as Large Subunit (LSU, 28S) and Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) have proven efficient to distinguish among species of animals, eukaryotic microbes and plants. The COI and LSU markers discriminate among closely related species of Collembola, but the efficiency of ITS2 has never been tested. We evaluated the relative performance of these three markers for DNA barcoding of Collembola. All three markers proved highly efficient in discriminating species, but LSU exhibited very low differences among certain closely related species. We conclude that ITS2 may serve as an alternative barcode to identify Collembola and has a potential to be used for metabarcoding analyses.
Large phylogenomics data sets require fast tree inference methods, especially for maximum-likelihood (ML) phylogenies. Fast
programs exist, but due to inherent heuristics to find optimal trees, it is not clear whether the best tree is found. Thus,
there is need for additional approaches that employ different search strategies to find ML trees and that are at the same
time as fast as currently available ML programs. We show that a combination of hill-climbing approaches and a stochastic perturbation
method can be time-efficiently implemented. If we allow the same CPU time as RAxML and PhyML, then our software IQ-TREE found
higher likelihoods between 62.2% and 87.1% of the studied alignments, thus efficiently exploring the tree-space. If we use
the IQ-TREE stopping rule, RAxML and PhyML are faster in 75.7% and 47.1% of the DNA alignments and 42.2% and 100% of the protein
alignments, respectively. However, the range of obtaining higher likelihoods with IQ-TREE improves to 73.3–97.1%. IQ-TREE
is freely available at http://www.cibiv.at/software/iqtree.
AbstractThe first Tomocerus species with a postantennal organ (PAO) in the adult stage is described from Vietnam. Tomocerus postantennalis
sp. n. differs from the other PAO-possessing tomocerid, Tomolonus reductus Mills, 1948, mainly in the morphology of PAO, the number of ocelli, the number of chaetae in trochantero-femoral organ and several features of the furca. The new species is placed in Tomocerus because of the presence of a toothlet on the outer basal mucronal tooth and the absence of the diagnostic character states of Plutomurus Yosii, 1956 and Aphaenomurus Yosii, 1956. Besides the presence of PAO, the new species is peculiar in having six prelabral chaetae, instead of four as in other Tomocerus species. The new species is similar to Tomocerus folsomi Denis, 1929 and Tomocerus ocreatus Denis, 1948 in the type of dental spines but different from them in the body colour, the relative length of antennae to body, the number of unguis inner teeth and the number of mucronal intermediate teeth.
Distinguishing features of Cyphoderus Collembola of the bidenticulati group are described. Taxonomic problems in the bidenticulati group of Cyphoderus are emphasized, and new characters of taxonomic value are introduced and discussed. Two new species are described from caves of Thailand, differing mainly in claw morphology.
Recent research of cave Collembola in Dinaric karst resulted in discovery of high regional diversification
of the genus Verhoeffiella Absolon, 1900. The most striking feature of Verhoeffiella species is the high number of
troglomorphic traits, which makes this genus a good model for studying morphological diversification and adaptation
in subterranean environments. We explore the expression of various morphological modifications assumed to be linked
to subterranean life, through detailed descriptions of four new species and redescription of two species including
the type species of the genus. Species delimitations are confirmed by single locus (cytochrome c oxidase I) tree-based
(Poisson tree processes) and distance-based (automatic barcode gap discovery) species delimitation approaches, which gave
identical results. Morphological changes classically considered as adaptive for cave life and new, potentially troglomorphic
characters for Collembola are discussed. For several of these characters, high morphological diversity between species
and large decoupling in the development of different traits within species are recorded. Such a decoupling is also
illustrated in the finding of two cases of Verhoeffiella species pairs at different levels of troglomorphy living in syntopy.
We further provide several new differential characters of specific and possibly generic or supra-generic importance and
describe for the first time among Collembola an original ‘distal organ’ on Ant. IV.
Characters used in the taxonomy of the genus Lepidonella Yosii, 1960 (Collembola: Paronellidae) are listed and discussed. Several new ones are introduced. An overview of pseudopore patterns across Collembola is presented, with several new locations of these structures across Entomobryomorpha. Their interest at different taxonomic level is underlined. The genus Lepidonella is redefined. The American species L. marimuti Soto Adames & Bellini, 2015 Soto-Adames FN, Bellini BC. 2015. Dorsal chaetotaxy of neotropical species supports a basal position for the genus Lepidonella among scaled Paronellidae (Collembola, Entomobryoidea). Florida Entomologist. 98(1):330–341.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar] is placed in incertae sedis among Lepidonella. Lepidonella species of the world are listed with synonymies and combinations. The Malaysian troglobitic species Pseudoparonella doveri Carpenter, 1933 Carpenter GH. 1933. XIX. Fauna of the Batu caves, Selangor. Journal of the Federated Malay States Museum. 17:217–221. [Google Scholar] is redescribed in detail, with emphasis on its pattern of antennal chaetae, and transferred to the genus Lepidonella. Its close similarity with L. lecongkieti Deharveng & Bedos, 1995 Deharveng L, Bedos A. 1995. Lepidonella lecongkieti n.sp., premier Collembole cavernicole du Vietnam (Collembola, Paronellidae). Bulletin de la Société entomologique de France. 100(1):21–24. [Google Scholar] from southwestern Vietnam caves is underlined. This disjunct distribution is briefly discussed.
Three new species of Entomobryoidea from Brazilian Caatinga-Cerrado transitional zone are described and illustrated, all from Sete Cidades National Park. Cyphoderus equidenticulati sp. nov. resembles C. javanus Börner and C. songkhlaensis Jantarit, Satasook & Deharveng in number of mucro teeth, one inner distal tooth on unguis and four ciliated chaetae between the two rows of feathered scales of dens, but differs in claw with a pair of equally developed inner basal teeth, collophore, labial and dorsal chaetotaxy. Pseudosinella triocellata sp. nov. is mostly similar to P. stewartpecki Katz, Soto-Adames & Taylor in number of eyes, presence of apical bulb on antennomere IV and one macrochaeta on mesothorax, but differs in head with S2 macrochaeta, anterior and posterior collophore chaetotaxy and empodial complex morphology. Trogolaphysa piracurucaensis sp. nov. is quite similar to the recently described T. ernersti Cipola & Bellini in overall dorsal chaetotaxy but differs in ventral head, collophore and manubrial plate chaetotaxy. Identification keys for Brazilian species of Cyphoderus, Pseudosinella and Trogolaphysa are also provided.
Traditional species delimitation only based on morphological diagnostics does not fully meet the needs of modern taxonomy. Cryptic diversity revealed by molecular evidence has been increasingly discovered in many groups; however, subsequent species description is often lacking because of inadequate taxonomy and being devoid of operational criteria. In this study, we focus on the collembolan Coecobrya which has been suspected to be a species complex living on cave guanos. Our study aimed to integrate both morphological and molecular character traits to explore this group across geographically separated cave populations. Among seven sampled populations, only minor chaetotaxic differences were detected and between populations there was partial overlap of discriminating characters. However, using three genes (COI, 16S, 28S) we consistently recovered across distance- and evolutionary model-based molecular delimitations seven molecular lineages, corresponding to seven candidate morphospecies. A final seven-species hypothesis was validated and seven new species were described: C. phanthuratensis sp. n., C. ranongica sp. n., C. donyoa sp. n., C. khaopaela sp. n., C. specusincola sp. n., C. khromwanaramica sp. n. and C. promdami sp. n. A tentative taxonomic workflow integrating multiple lines of evidence is proposed to facilitate the subsequent formal species description for Collembola. Unified species concept is preferable to accommodate most species concepts, delimitation criteria and data analysis methods. In practice, DNA-based diagnoses are recommended as the standard component for the current taxonomy of Collembola, particularly within morphologically conserved groups.
Twelve species of Lepidocyrtus and 2 species of Pseudosinella are described. -from Author
This volume dealing with the 239 Nordic species of Entomobryomorpha and Symphypleona completes the survey which was started with Part 1, Poduromorpha, which appeared ten years ago (Fjellberg, 1998a). The number of Collembola species being recorded in the Nordic countries have now reached 403 (a few more Poduromorpha are added since 1998). The detailed studies and use of mouthpart morphology in species diagnostics was introduced in Part 1 and is continued here. Structures of labium, labrum and maxilla are found to be particularly useful in diagnostics of higher taxa of Symphypleona. Colour photographs are used to illustrate some of the more characteristic species. Three new species are described (Desoria potapovi sp. nov., Desoria tolya sp. nov., Isotomurus graminis sp. nov.). The following new synonyms are established: Folsomia janstachi Potapov & Babenko, 2000 = Isotoma (now Folsomia) coeruleogrisea Hammer, 1938; Folsomia norvegica Altner, 1963 = Folsomia thalassophila Bagnall, 1940; Proisotoma admaritima Murphy, 1953 = Isotoma (now Cryptopygus) clavata Schött, 1893; Isotoma ruseki Fjellberg, 1979 = Isotoma (now Desoria) fennica Reuter, 1895; Isotoma inupikella Fjellberg, 1978 = Isotoma (now Desoria) violacea Tullberg, 1876; Isotoma germanica Hüther & Winter, 1961 = Isotoma (now Desoria) intermedia Schött, 1902; Entomobrya subarctica Stach, 1962 = Podura (now Entomobrya) nivalis Linnaeus, 1758.
Two closely related Homidia species, H. fascia Wang & Chen, 2001 and H. pseudofascia sp. nov., are recognized by both morphological and molecular approaches. Both species have minor morphological differences except distinct colour patterns on thorax. Genetic distances (18%) of COI barcodes between them greatly exceed commonly employed threshold (3%), also indicating two independent species. The use of colour pattern in taxonomy of Homidia is also discussed.
Two new 1+1 eyed species of Sinella Brook, 1882, S. uniseta sp. nov. and S. abietis sp. nov., are described from China. New collection records are reported for nine known species: S. qufuensis Chen & Christiansen, 1993, S. quinocula Chen & Christiansen, 1993, S. affluens Chen & Christiansen, 1993, S. wui Wang & Christiansen, 2000, S. umesaoi Yosii, 1940, S. gei Pan, Zhang & Shi, 2012, S. sunae Pan, Zhang & Shi, 2012, S. gracilis Zhang, 2013 and S. transoculata Pan & Yuan, 2013. Additions to original description, such as clypeal chaetae, chaetae along cephalic groove, and S-chaetotaxy, are provided for above known species. A key to the eyed species of Sinella from China is given.
Three new species of Coecobrya are described from southern and northwest China. C. draconis sp. nov. from Guangxi cave shows some troglomorphic features, such as the inner ungual teeth inserted basally. C. xui sp. nov. is similar to C. huangi and differs from the latter by head and tergal chaetotaxy. C. qin sp. nov. is the second member of the genus with 3+3 eyes, but cannot be assigned to either the tenebricosa- or boneti-groups because it has eyes and a large outer tooth on unguiculus.