Abstract
A survey of wingless insects belonging to the orders Microcoryphia (=Archaeognatha) and Zygentoma (=Thysanura s. str.) has been performed in subterranean habitats of central Iran. As a result, several new species have been discovered. In this work, three new species are described: a new species of bristletail of the family Machilidae, Haslundiellairanicasp. n., a new silverfish of the family Lepismatidae, Ctenolepismasubterraneumsp. n., and a new Nicoletiidae, Lepidospora (Brinckina) momtazianasp. n. These new taxa are compared with related species in their respective genera and keys for their identification are provided: one for all known species of Haslundiella and one for all basal insects of subterranean environments of Iran which includes those previously reported. Moreover, the previously published keys of Iranian Ctenolepisma and the subgenus Brinckina are modified to include the new species. Three additional species of Lepismatidae are reported in this work: Neoasterolepìsma palmonii and Ctenolepismatargionii are newly recorded from Iran and both species, together with Acrotelsacollaris, are cited for the first time in the subterranean habitats. This survey progresses the knowledge on the biodiversity of these insects in Iran.
Highlights
The subterranean fauna of basal insects is poorly studied in most parts of the world
Some other characters can be mentioned: Antennae are shorter than body length; the shape of the maxillary palp is different because all articles are similar in length, showing clear differences with H. steinitzi and H. nisensis (Table 1); and legs are similar in shape but with very different chaetotaxy
As a result of the surveys performed in caves in Iran, several new taxa of basal Hexapoda (Microcoryphia and Zygentoma) have been described or reported for the first time in this country
Summary
The subterranean fauna of basal insects is poorly studied in most parts of the world. We consider here as basal insects the orders Microcoryphia (=Archaeognatha) and Zygentoma (=Thysanura s.str.), which both belong to class Insecta. They are primitively wingless and have been included traditionally in the group Apterygota together with Collembola, Protura and Diplura, groups of the superclass Hexapoda that are nowadays excluded from Insecta. Fars province (Fig. 1) presented the greatest diversity of species and higher taxa. This is in part due to a higher abundance of caves, favorable climate (such as suitable annual humidity and temperature, sufficient precipitation and soil fertility) and, compared to other provinces, high diversity of all insect groups on the surface
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