Deutonura iranica, Smolis & Skarżyński, 2020

Smolis, Adrian & Skarzynski, Dariusz, 2020, Contribution to the knowledge of Neanurinae of north-western Iran with description of seven new species (Collembola, Neanuridae), ZooKeys 992, pp. 105-138 : 105

Deutonura iranica sp. nov. Figs 62-71 , Table 16, 17, 18

Type material.

Holotype: juvenile (second instar) on slide, Iran, West Azerbaijan Province, Choj (38°37'N, 45°02'E), 1.VI.1975, leg. A. Senglet, sample 7503.

Etymology.

The species name refers to the country of its collecting.

Diagnosis.

Habitus typical of the genus Deutonura . Dorsal tubercles present and well developed. 2+2 large pigmented eyes. Buccal cone relatively long and narrow, labrum without ogival sclerifications. Head without chaetae O, So2, L2 and L3. Tubercles Cl and Af separate. No granular area between chaetae A and B on head. Tubercles De on Th. II and III with 3 and 4 chaetae, respectively. Tubercles Di on Abd. V bilobed. Cryptopygy strongly developed.

Description.

General. Body length (without antennae): holotype: 1.05 mm. Colour of the body white. 2+2 large black eyes, in a typical arrangement for the genus (Fig. 63 ).

Chaetal morphology. Dorsal ordinary chaetae of five types: long macrochaetae (Ml), short macrochaetae (Mc), very short macrochaetae (Mcc), mesochaetae and microchaetae. Long macrochaetae relatively thin, arc-like or straight, narrowly sheathed, feebly serrated, apically sharply pointed (Figs 63 , 68-70 ). Macrochaetae Mc and Mcc morphologically similar to long macrochaetae, but much shorter (Figs 63 , 68 ). Mesochaetae similar to ventral chaetae, thin, smooth and pointed. Microchaetae similar to mesochaetae, but clearly shorter. S-chaetae of terga thin, smooth and short, shorter than nearby macrochaetae (Figs 63 , 68 , 71 ).

Antennae. Typical of the genus. Dorsal chaetotaxy of Ant. III-IV as in Fig. 64 and Table 17 . S-chaetae of Ant. IV long and relatively thin, S3 notably longer than others, sensillum sgd of medium size and straight (Fig. 64 ). Apical vesicle distinct, trilobate. Ventral chaetotaxy of Ant. III-IV as in Fig. 65 and Table 17 .

Mouthparts. Buccal cone relatively long and narrow, labral sclerifications nonogival (Figs 62 , 67 ). Labrum chaetotaxy: 4/2, 4 (Fig. 62 ). Labium with four basal, three distal and four lateral chaetae, papillae x absent (Fig. 67 ). Maxilla styliform mandible thin and tridentate.

Dorsal chaetotaxy and tubercles. Head without granular area between chaetae A and B. Elementary tubercles DE and EE on head present (Fig. 63 ). Head without chaetae O, L2, L3 and So2. Chaetae C as Mcc. Chaetae Ocp notably shorter than Ocm. Chaetae De2 on head as Mcc (Fig. 63 ). Th. I with tubercles Di and De not fused. Chaetae Di3 on Th. II-III connected with tubercle Di. On Th. III, chaetae De2 slightly longer than De3 (Fig. 63 ). On Abd. I-III, chaetae De2 longer than De3 (Fig. 68 ). Cryptopygy present and strongly developed, Abd. VI invisible from above (Fig. 68 ).

Ventral chaetotaxy. On head, groups Vea, Vem and Vep with 4, 3 and 4 chaetae, respectively. Group Vi on head with 6 chaetae (Fig. 67 ). Tubercles L on Abd. III and IV with 4 and 6 chaetae, respectively (Fig. 66 ). On Abd. IV, furca rudimentary without microchaetae. On Abd. V, chaetae Vl and L’ present.

Legs. Chaetotaxy of legs as in Table 18 . Claw without internal tooth. On tibiotarsi, chaeta M present and chaetae B4 and B5 of medium size and pointed.

Remarks.

Since juveniles (beginning from the first instar) of the subfamily Neanurinae are characterised by the complete chaetotaxy of the head, thorax and abdomen, we decided to describe the new species despite having only one specimen of the second instar. D. iranica sp. nov. runs in the most recent key to Deutonura species ( Deharveng et al. 2015) to D. gibbosa Porco, Bedos & Deharveng, 2010, a form common and widespread in southern France (the Alps and Jura), Switzerland, Italy and Slovenia ( Porco et al. 2010). Both species are readily distinguished from most members of the genus by the presence of very prominent and conspicuously bilobed tubercle (Di+Di) on the penultimate abdominal segment. This unique character is additionally associated with the specific chaetotaxic arrangement of chaetae Di, with their shift backwards. D. iranica sp. nov. can be easily separated from D. gibbosa by the presence of white body colour (in gibbosa deep to light blue), the presence of 7 chaetae on cephalic tubercle (L+So) (in gibbosa , 8-9 chaetae), the presence of cephalic chaetae Ocp equal chaetae A (in gibbosa , chaetae Ocp distinctly longer than A) and the presence of 4 lateral labial chaetae (in gibbosa , 3 chaetae).

Figures

Figures 62 - 71. Deutonura iranica sp. nov.: 62 chaetotaxy and ventral sclerifications of labrum 63 chaetotaxy of head and Th. (holotype), dorsolateral view 64 dorsal chaetotaxy of Ant. III-IV 65 ventral chaetotaxy of Ant. III-IV 66 chaetotaxy of tubercles L of Abd. III-IV, ventral view 67 chaetotaxy of labium and group Vi 68 dorsal chaetotaxy of Abd. III-VI (holotype) 69 chaeta Di 1 of Abd. V 70 chaeta Di 2 of Abd. V 71 sensillum of Abd. V.