The Rare Richardsitas Betsch (Collembola, Symphypleona, Sminthuridae): A New Species from Australia with Comments on the Genus and on the Sminthurinae.

Gleyce Da S Medeiros,Bruno C Bellini,Penelope Greenslade

doi:10.3390/insects11080519

Gleyce Da S Medeiros, Bruno C Bellini + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/insects11080519

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Abstract

Richardsitas Betsch is a small genus of Sminthurinae with only two species described so far, both from Madagascar. It resembles other Sminthurinae with long antennae, especially Temeritas Richards. Here we provide the first record of Richardsitas from Australia, Richardsitas subferoleum sp. nov., which is similar to R. najtae Betsch and R. griveaudi Betsch in males’ large abdomen chaetotaxy and presence of tenent-hairs on tibiotarsi II–III, but lacks mucronal chaeta and has 28 segments on the fourth antennal segment plus a unique pair of sensilla on the second. We also provide an updated genus diagnosis to Richardsitas, a key to its species, a discussion of the affinities of Temeritas and Richardsitas to other Sminthurinae, and an updated key to this subfamily.

Highlights

The family Sminthuridae Lubbock, 1862 [1] has about 260 nominal species in 32 genera and represents one of the most common and widespread groups of Symphypleona [2,3,4]
It is similar to Temeritas Richards, 1963 in Delamare Deboutteville and Massoud, 1963 [17], Galeriella Ćurčić and Lučić, 2007 in Ćurčić et al 2007 [18] and Keratosminthurus, as well as species with long antennae of Sminthurus
The unusual morphology of the three Richardsitas species, with Temeritas-like habitus combined with a single capitate tenent-hair on tibiotarsi II and III and males with short candle-shaped or spine-like chaetae on dorsal large abdomen, is unmatched among the subfamily Sminthurinae (Table 2)

Summary

Introduction

The family Sminthuridae Lubbock, 1862 [1] has about 260 nominal species in 32 genera and represents one of the most common and widespread groups of Symphypleona [2,3,4]. It comprises three subfamilies of which the Sminthurinae, Lubbock, 1862 is the largest, with about 180 species described in 12 extant and seven extinct genera [2,4,5,6,7,8,9]. It is similar to Temeritas Richards, 1963 in Delamare Deboutteville and Massoud, 1963 [17], Galeriella Ćurčić and Lučić, 2007 in Ćurčić et al 2007 [18] and Keratosminthurus, as well as species with long antennae of Sminthurus

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