Lepidocyrtus pallidus Reuter, 1890

Mateos, Eduardo & Winkler, Daniel, 2018, New data clarifying the taxonomy of European members of the Lepidocyrtus pallidus - serbicus group (Collembola, Entomobryidae), Zootaxa 4429 (3), pp. 548-568 : 550-553

Lepidocyrtus pallidus Reuter, 1890

Figs 3‒8, Tab 1

Material examined. Three specimens (1 male and 2 females) on slides from garden compost, Vilanova ( Philadelphia , USA), position N40°01’30.7” W75°21’04.0”, deposited at the UB (sample LP361), 28.xii.1999 , Arne Fjellberg leg. Five specimens (3 males and 2 females) on slides from Nerium oleander L. soil imported from Germany, Oslo ( Norway, exact position unknown), deposited at the UB (sample LP380), 15.v.2014 , Arne Fjellberg leg. Three females from soil of highly humanized area, Songjiang Qu (Shangai, China), position N31°05’46.3” E121°11’17.1”, deposited at the UB (sample LP467), 30.viii.2016 , Bing Zhang leg.

Description based on specimens from three world localities. Body length 0.8‒1.3 mm (without head nor furca). Th.II not projecting over the head. Head, antennae, trunk and legs up to the femurs bluish-grey. Head apically and laterally bluish-grey, posteriorly white with blue marbling. Blue shades also on manubrium ( Fig. 3a). Antennae, legs beyond coxae, posterior side of the manubrium and ventral tube without scales.

(non European species L. fimicolus is also included) “?”, impossible to establish with the available current information; M, macrochaeta; shM, short macrochaeta; cM, ciliated macrochaeta; cm,

ciliated mesochaeta; sm, smooth mesochaeta; ab, above; be, below.

Features L. pseudosinelloides 1, 2 L. serbicus 3, 4 L. tomosvaryi 5 L. isabellae 6 L. arrabonicus 7, 8 L. fimicolus 9 L. weidneri 10, 11 L. pallidus 12,13, 14 L. florae sp. nov.

Colour diffuse bluish-grey pale-light purple white greyish-blue to dark dark blue light violet-gray to granulated blue diffuse bluish-grey dark blue bluish-black almost black

Max length (mm) 2.0 1.9 1.0 1.6 1.35 1.2 1.6 1.6 1.1

Ant. IV apical bulb absent present4/absent3 absent absent absent absent absent absent absent

Head macrochaetae A0 (?) A2A3M2S3Pa5 2 A0A2aA2A3M2S3Pa5 A0A2aA2A3M2S3Pa5 A0A2aA2A3M2S3Pa5 A0A2aA2A3Pa5 A0A2aA2S3Pa5 A0A2aA2S3Pa5 11 A0A2aA2S3Pa 5 13,14 A0A2aA2A3S3Pa5

Eyes G & H strongly reduced strongly reduced slightly reduced slightly reduced slightly reduced slightly reduced strongly reduced strongly reduced slightly reduced

Ocular chaeta q absent2 absent absent absent absent7/present8 present present present present

Labial chaeta R ciliated ciliated ciliated ciliated ciliated spine-like ciliated spine-like ciliated

Labial ratio R / M2 ~0.75 ~0.7 ~0.7 ~0.7 ~0.6? ~0.2–0.5 ~0.05 ~0.7

Abd.II chaeta Li? absent absent absent absent present absent absent absent

Abd. II chaeta a2p absent present present present absent present present present absent

Abd. II chaeta m3e present present3/absent4 absent absent present present present present present

Abd. II chaeta m5? M M M shM shM shM shM shM

Abd. II ratio m3 / m5 ?? ~1.6 ~1.6 4–5 8? ~2.7 ~2.5 ~4.6–5.4

Abd. III chaeta a7? cm cm cM sm7/cm8 sm sm sm / cm 14 cm

Abd. III chaeta d3? present3/absent4 present present present absent absent absent present

Abd.IV chaeta m' absent absent absent absent absent absent / present absent absent / present14 absent

Abd. IV ratio D1 / a ~1 2 ~1.5 ~1.5 ~1.3 ~1 ~1 ~1 ~1 ~1

Abd. IV C1p -T3-D1p smooth2 smooth smooth smooth smooth7/ ciliated8 smooth / ciliated ciliated ciliated ciliated

Abd. IV ratio D1p / T3 ~1 2 ~1 ~1 ~1 ~1 7/ 1.4–1.9 8 ~2 ~2 ~2 1–1.4

Abd.IV F2 cM cM cM cM cM? sm cM / sm14 cM

Abd. IV F2–E2 F2 be E2 2 F2 be E2 F2 be E2 F2 be E2 F2 be E2? F2 ab E2 F2 be/ab14 E2 F2 be E2

Dental tubercle absent absent present absent absent absent absent absent absent

1 L. pseudosinelloides sensu Gisin (1967a) . 8 L. arrabonicus from HNHM and US .

2 L. pseudosinelloides from the MHN. 9 L. fimicolus sensu Mari-Mutt (1988) .

3 L. serbicus from the ISEA. 10 L. weidneri sensu Hüther (1971) .

4 L. serbicus sensu Gruia & Popa (2005) . 11 L. weidneri from the ZIZM.

5 L. tomosvaryi sensu Winkler & Traser (2012) . 12 L. pallidus sensu Hüther (1971) .

6 L. isabellae sensu Winkler (2017) . 13 L. pallidus from UB samples LP361, LP380 and LP467.

7 L. arrabonicus sensu Traser (2000) . 14 L. cf. pallidus from UB, samples LP362, LP379 and LP540

Ratio antennal length to head diagonal length about 1.5 (head diagonal measured from cervical edge to apex of the mouth part). Relation of antennal joints I‒IV as 1:1.8:1.7:3.3. Ant. III sense organ composed of two bent sensory rods partially behind a cuticular fold. Ant. IV without apical bulb.

Labrum chaetae 4/554, prelabral chaetae ciliated, all labral chaetae smooth and pointed. Labrum intrusion inverted V-shaped, labral edge with four rounded papillae. Outer maxillary palp with two smooth chaetae and three smooth sublobal chaetae. Clypeus with ten ciliated chaetae (3 in row pf, 5 in row f, and 2 in row L). Labial palp with lateral process on papilla E slightly curved, not reaching top of papilla.

Labium chaetotaxy formed by 5 smooth chaetae (a1‒a5) in anterior row; basal row with formula M1M2rEL1L2 ( Fig. 4 ), all ciliated except r which is vestigial, ratio of r/M ~0.05. Ventral cephalic grove with 4+4 ciliated chaetae.

Dorsal cephalic macrochaetotaxy formula A0A2a A2S3Pa5 ( Fig. 5 ). Eye patches dark blue, eyes well visible. Diameters of eye A‒F about the same; eyes G and H smaller (A:G ≈ 2.7; A:H ≈ 1.7). Interocular chaetotaxy with s, t, p, q chaetae and 3‒4 intraocular scales.

Body macrochaetae 00/0101+2. Th.II to abd.I dorsal chaetotaxy the same as described for L. florae sp. nov. ( Figs 20 – 22 ). Abd.II – III with the same dorsal chaetotaxy as described for L. weidneri and L. pallidus in Hüther (1971) , except for mesochaeta a7 on abd.III which is ciliated in the examined specimens. Abd.IV ( Fig. 6 ) with the same dorsal chaetotaxy as described for L. pallidus in Hüther (1971) ; on trichobothrial complex chaeta D1p two times longer than chaetae C1p and T3 ( Fig. 7 ); one female from sample LP380 with one extra accessory chaeta of trichobotrium T2 located between chaetae m and a only on the left side of the body. Abd.V dorsal chaetotaxy as in Fig. 8 .

Trochanteral organ with 16‒21 smooth spiny chaetae forming a V shape pattern. Unguiculus acuminate with finely serrated outer edge. Inner edge of unguis with a basal pair of teeth 50% along its length, and two unpaired teeth at 75% and 95%, respectively. Of the basal pair teeth one tooth is much larger than the other, the proximal unpaired tooth is very strong, and the distal one is very weak and difficult to see in many specimens. This unguis morphology match the description done by Hüther for L. weidneri ( Hüther 1971: pg 163, Figs 13 – 15 ). Tibiotarsal tenent hair spatulate.

Ventral tube with a maximum of 13+13 ciliated chaetae on anterior side and 18 on posterior side. Lateral flap with a maximum of 10 laterodistal chaetae (7 smooth and 3 ciliated).

Manubrium with 2+2 ciliated apical chaetae on anterior side. Manubrial plate with 2 inner chaetae and 3 – 4 chaetae outer to the 2 pseudopores. Dental tubercle absent.

Discussion. Based on the redescription of L. pallidus by Hüther (1971: pg. 164) and Gisin (1965: Fig. 1p ), the presence or absence of dorsal cephalic macrochaeta A3 cannot be argued with certainty. Comments in later papers ( Rusek 1985, Traser 2000, Mateos 2008, Winkler & Traser 2012) suggested that this macrochaeta is present. Thanks to the present study of freshly collected specimens of L. pallidus , we can draw the conclusion that this species lacks the dorsal cephalic macrochaeta A3 and its dorsal head macrochaetae formula can therefore be described as A0A2a A2S3Pa5. It is noteworthy to mention, that the figure of dorsal head of L. pallidus as provided by Fjellberg (2007: Fig. 79M) erroneously misses macrochaetae A2 and A2a (A. Fjellberg pers. comm.).

Figures

FIGURES 4–5. Lepidocyrtus pallidus: 4, labial triangle (left side) and postlabial chaetotaxy; 5, dorsal head chaetotaxy (left side), broad circle—long ciliated macrochaetae, small circle—short ciliated macrochaetae.

FIGURES 20–22. Lepidocyrtus florae sp. nov.: 20, th.II dorsal chaetotaxy (left side), circles—ciliated chaetae, psppseudopore; 21, th.III dorsal chaetotaxy (left side), psp—pseudopore; 22, abd.I dorsal chaetotaxy (left side), psp—pseudopore.

FIGURES 6–8. Lepidocyrtus pallidus: 6, abd.IV chaetotaxy, broad black circles—broad ciliated macrochaetae, small black circles—thin ciliated macrochaetae, open circles—mesochaetae, triangles—fan-shaped chaetae, x—trichobotria, crossed circle—pseudopore; 7, abd.IV trichobotrial complex; 8, abd.V chaetotaxy, broad black circles—long ciliated macrochaetae, small black circles—short ciliated macrochaetae.

FIGURES 12–17. Lepidocyrtus florae sp. nov.: 12, ant.III sensillar organ; 13, labrum and maxillary palp; 14, clypeal chaetae, pf—prefrontal row, f—frontal row, L 1 and L 2 —lateral rows; 15, labial papilla E with lateral process; 16, labial triangle (left side) and postlabial chaetotaxy; 17, distribution pattern of dorsal macrochaetae (filled circles), trichobotria (lines) and pseudopores (crossed circles).

FIGURES 1–2. Dorsal head chaetotaxy (left side), broad circles—long ciliated macrochaetae, small circles—short ciliated macrochaetae: 1, L. arrabonicus; 2, L. pseudosinelloides.