Folsomia Willem, 1902

Mandal, G. P., 2018, Three new species of Collembola from India, Records of the Zoological Survey of India 118 (2), pp. 107-127 : 111-112

Genus Folsomia Willem, 1902

1902. Folsomia Willem, Ann. Soc. Ent. Belg. 46: 275-283

Type species: Folsomia candida Willem, 1902

Folsomia Willem, 1902 is one of the largest genera in the family Isotomidae . It differs from the other Isotomidae in the following characters: the last three abdominal segments fused, PAO present, well developed, but rather short furcula, retinaculum with 4+4 teeth and a single large seta, anal spines absent (Ding et al., 2006). So far, about 177 species have been described all over the world (Bellinger et al., 2017) and F. baijali Prabhoo, 1972 is found to be endemic to India. A checklist of Indian species, of Folsomia as reference to their distribution in India and the World is provided.

1. F. fimetaria ( Linnaeus, 1758) . It was recorded from Dodabetta, Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu of India and from Arctic and Sub-arctic, Europe, North Eurasia, Sino–Japanese, Himalayan, West and Central Asia, Mediterranean, Macronesian, North America, Caribbean mainland, Antillean and S. Florida.

2. F. santokhi ( Baijal, 1958) . It was recorded from North Slope of Pir Panjal Range Lahaul (upper Chandra Valley), opposite Kulti Nal, 3675m, Himachal Pradesh, India and Himalaya .

3. F. baijali Prabhoo, 1971 . It was only recorded from Vandiperiyar, Kerala, India.

4. F. octoculata Handschin, 1925 . It was recorded from Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu of India and Northern Eastern Asia& Hawaii Island, Himalaya, Sino-Japanese and African-Indian desert.

5. F. arunachalensis n. sp.

A new species, Folsomia arunachalensis n. sp. is described here from Lower Dibang Valley District, 65, Mayudia, Arunachal Pradesh, India.