Redescription and review of the most abundant conehead in Italy:Acerentomon italicumNosek, 1969 (Protura: Acerentomidae)

Abstract

Acerentomon italicum is the most abundant species of Protura in Italy. In this paper, A. italicum is redescribed according to the most recent revision of diagnostic characters (morphometry, porotaxy), examining the type material and 59 specimens from 11 different localities in our collection. For some characters, scanning electron microscope (SEM) pictures are presented. An updated detailed catalogue extracted from the authors' database is provided: A. italicum is reported from 91 Italian localities (mainly from Northern Italian regions) in a total of 520 ♂♂, 669 ♀♀, 28 pre-imagines, 69 maturi junior, 25 larvae II, four larvae I and eight undetermined. Few specimens were collected in Switzerland (two, about 5 km away from the Italian border), Austria (three), Slovenia (one) and Corsica (eight). The entire data set is analysed for information on phenology (juveniles detectable every month in Liguria and Tuscany, but only during spring-summer in the remaining regions of Northern Italy) and sex ratio (M:F = 0.78) of this species. A. italicum was collected in localities from 0 to 2000 m above sea level in the soil and litter of pure and mixed forest. The geological substratum, when recorded, was limestone, quartz/mica schists and conglomerates. The DNA barcode is newly provided for 21 representatives from three Italian populations of A. italicum.

Paracerella Imadaté in China: the description of a new species and the analysis of genetic differences between populations (Protura, Acerentomata, Nipponentomidae)

“…However, the intraspecific genetic distances of Paracerella sinensis sp. n. are very high (up to 12.54%), which is in accord with the previous studies on some other proturan species: up to 21.3% in eight individuals of Ionescuellum haybachae from two Austria populations (Resch et al 2014), and up to 31.98% separating 21 representatives of Acerentomon italicum in three Italian populations from an Austrian population (Galli et al 2015). The similar situation was also found in another basal hexapod group–Collembola: six collembolan species sampled from various locations worldwide with high intraspecific variation for COI from 11.33% to 21.47% (Porco et al 2012).…”

Morphological and Genetic Analysis of the Acerentomon doderoi Group (Protura: Acerentomidae) with Description of A. christiani sp. nov

“…– Tergite VII with 16 posterior setae (for additional characters see current redescription [ 19 ]) … A . italicum Nosek, 1969 (Italy, Austria)…”

Is Acerentomon italicum Nosek, 1969 (Protura: Acerentomidae) a species complex?

“…The remaining porotaxy and chaetotaxy of these two groups is largely identical, with a certain level of variability that characterizes all species. Moreover, DNA barcoding showed a remarkable distance between a group of three Ligurian populations (asl) and one from Austria (psm) (Galli et al, 2016). These results prompted us to look for further characteristics that can distinguish the two "groups of populations" (from here on indicated as asl and psm populations).…”

“…Acerentomon italicum Nosek, 1969 is the most abundant Protura species in Italy (Galli et al, 2016) and it is widespread in Switzerland, Austria, Corsica and Slovenia. A recent redescription of the species (Galli et al, 2016) highlighted the difference between two groups of populations with regards to the porotaxy of tergite VII. Porotaxy was used as a diagnostic character to distinguish Protura species for about thirty years (e.g.…”