Neoasterolepisma priesneri (Stach, 1946)

Kahrarian, Morteza & Molero-Baltanás, Rafael, 2015, The first report of the family Protrinemuridae and Neoasterolepisma priesneri (Stach, 1946) (Insecta: Zygentoma) for Iran, Turkish Journal of Zoology 39 (5), pp. 956-957 : 956

Neoasterolepisma priesneri (Family Lepismatidae )

One female, under rocks, living with ants, Tag-e-Bostan Mountain (34°23′N, 47 ° 07′E, 1488 m a.s.l.), Kermanshah County, Kermanshah Province, Iran. October 2013 .

This represents the first record of this species in Iran (and in Asia), as it was originally known only from its type locality in Egypt. The available specimen agrees well with the description given by Stach (1946) and completed by Mendes (1988).

N. priesneri can be recognized by the high number of macrosetae of the urosternal combs (the median combs usually have more than 25); in the female, the internal process of the IXth coxite is very long, about 5 times longer than wide at its base (Figure). The urotergites show the usual setation of the genus (1+1 infralateral groups of macrosetae, 1 + 1 lateral, 1+1 sublateral, and 1+1 submedian isolated macrosetae), while N. evansi shows a modified setation with very numerous macrosetae inserted on the hind margins of the urotergites. The only female of N. priesneri was collected together with one male identified as N. evansi , both living in the same ant nest. Since the female of N. evansi has never been found previously and its characters are not known, it can be hypothesized that the two specimens of the same sample belong to the same species, and the aforementioned differences of the abdominal setation can be interpreted as sexual dimorphism (in some other species of Neoasterolepisma , sexual dimorphism concerning specialized setation has been described). However, the male of N. priesneri described by Stach has bigger paramera and a higher number of macrosetae in the urosternal combs than what has been described for N. evansi males (median combs in N. evansi usually have fewer than 20 macrosetae). The parabiosis of Zygentoma (more than one species living together in the same ant nest) has previously been observed in other regions (Mendes, 1987, and unpublished data).