Pedetontus (Verhoeffilis) gershneri Allen, 1995

De Jong, Grant D., 2020, Jumping bristletail (Insecta: Apterygota: Microcoryphia) records in the southeastern United States, Insecta Mundi 755, pp. 1-8 : 4

Pedetontus (Verhoeffilis) gershneri Allen, 1995

In this species, the 6 th abdominal segment has only one pair of exsertile vesicles, placing it in the subgenus Verhoeffilis Paclt with P. submutans Silvestri , P. persquamosus Silvestri , and P. calcaratus Silvestri , and distinguishing it from P. californicus Silvestri , P. superior Silvestri , and P. saltator Wygodzinsky and Schmidt in the nominal subgenus, which have two pairs of exsertile vesicles. The apical segments of the maxillary and labial palpi in this species lack strong spines, and it is known only from Arkansas, separating it from the other species in the subgenus Verhoeffilis , which are also mostly found in the Pacific Coast states and Canadian provinces ( Allen 1995).

This species was previously known only from the type series collected on Magazine Mountain, Arkansas ( Allen 1995), and the specimens from the MEM were also collected at the type locality. While this species was described from moist forest floor among leaf and pine litter, Allen (1995) also reported Machiloides banksi Silvestri from xeric rock ledge habitat elsewhere on Magazine Mountain. It is therefore interesting that these species with apparently differing habitat preferences were both collected in the same sample on 17 May 1989. Perhaps pitfall traps were placed in intermediate habitats or multiple pitfall traps from different habitats were composited.

ARKANSAS: Logan County: 1♂ + 3♀, Magazine Mt. , 1350′, T6N R25W § 16, 17 May 1989, J. MacGown & Q. Fang.