Contribution to the knowledge of Neanurinae of north-western Iran with description of seven new species (Collembola, Neanuridae)

Abstract

Seven new species of the subfamily Neanurinae from north-western Iran are described and illustrated in detail. Endonura agnieskaesp. nov. differs from the most similar congener, E. reticulata (Axelson, 1905), in chaetotaxic details and the arrangement of tubercles on the dorsal side of the body. Endonura annaesp. nov. can be easily recognised by its wide labrum, the absence of chaetae C on the head and the presence of a toothed claw. Endonura schwendingerisp. nov. is especially distinctive due to the absence of chaetae A and Ocp on the head and the presence of the male ventral organ. Deutonura brevisetasp. nov. is related and most similar to D. persica Smolis, Shayanmehr & Yoosefi-Lafooraki, 2018, described recently and known from Mazandran Province in Iran. The new species can be easily distinguished by the following set of features: dark pigmented body, presence of chaetae C and Dl3 on the head, absence of microchaetae on the furca rudimentary, presence of thickened macrochaetae on dorsal side of body and absence of cryptopygy. The main characteristics of Deutonura sengletisp. nov. include a white body with dark pigmented eyes, the fusion of tubercles Di and De on the first thoracic segment and the presence of the male ventral organ. Deutonura iranicasp. nov. is superficially similar to D. gibbosa Porco, Bedos & Deharveng, 2010, a species known from the Alps and Jura in Europe, but it differs in the body colour and the number of labial chaetae and chaetae (L+So) on the head. Paravietnura rostratasp. nov., the first member of this enigmatic and intriguing genus known from Iran, is characterised by an unusually elongate ogival labrum and extreme reduction of dorsal chaetotaxy. Furthermore, new records of several other species of the subfamily: Cryptonura maxima Smolis, Falahati & Skarżyński, 2012; C. persica Smolis, Falahati & Skarżyński, 2012; Deutonura persica; Endonura longirostris Smolis, Shayanmehr, Kuznetsova & Yoosefi-Lafooraki, 2017; E. paracentaurea Smolis, Shayanmehr, Kuznetsova & Yoosefi-Lafooraki, 2017; Neanura deharvengi Smolis, Shayanmehr & Yoosefi-Lafooraki, 2018; N. muscorum (Templeton, 1835) and Protanura papillata Cassagnau & Delamare Deboutteville, 1955 are given. The present study is based on the rich material collected by Antoine Senglet and loaned by Peter J. Schwendinger.

Springtails (Hexapoda, Collembola) of Savadkuh (Mazandaran) with the description of a new species of Isotomurus Börner (Entomobryomorpha, Isotomidae)

“…This checklist was once more updated in 2020 with 232 Collembola species (Shayanmehr et al, 2020b). Subsequently, 35 new records and 24 new species of Collembola have been described from different regions of Iran (Vargovitsh & Kahrarian, 2020;Shayanmehr et al, 2020aShayanmehr et al, , 2022Shayanmehr et al, , 2023Mehrafrooz Mayvan et al, 2021, 2022Smolis & Skarżyński, 2020;Yahyapour et al, 2020aYahyapour et al, , 2020bYahyapour et al, , 2021Yahyapour et al, , 2022Bakhshi et al, 2022;Vahedi Moghadam et al, 2022; Journal of Insect Biodiversity and Systematics 2024  10 (1) Yoosefi Lafooraki et al, 2020a, 2020c, 2023bAhmadi et al, 2023;Rabieh et al, 2023). Collembola species which are known as biological indicators play important roles in soil decomposition and nutrient circularity and are considered useful tools to determine soil fertility.…”

Three new records of Collembola (Hexapoda) from Birjand (South Khorasan, Iran)

“…So that in 2020, 232 species of them were reported from the country (Shayanmehr et al, 2020). Subsequently 12 new records and 20 new species of Collembola have been described from different regions of Iran (Mehrafrooz Mayvan et al, 2021Shayanmehr et al, 2019Shayanmehr et al, , 2022Smolis & Skarżyński, 2020;Yoosefi Lafooraki et al, 2020a, 2020bYahyapour et al, 2020Yahyapour et al, , 2021Yahyapour et al, , 2022. Collembola fauna is not known in eastern Iran.…”