Lepidocyrtus (Lanocyrtus) absens, Zhang & Chatterjee & Chen, 2009

Zhang, Feng, Chatterjee, Tapas & Chen, Jian-Xiu, 2009, A new species of the genus Lepidocyrtus Bourlet and a new record of Seira delamarei Jacquemart (Collembola: Entomobryidae) from the east coast of India, Zootaxa 2310, pp. 43-50 : 44-47

Lepidocyrtus (Lanocyrtus) absens sp. nov.

Figs 1–21

Type material. Holotype: female on slide, India: Andhra Pradesh: Bhimli, about 25 km north of Visakhapatnam , December 2005, coll. T. Chatterjee . Paratypes: 2 males and 4 females on slide and 20 in alcohol, the same data as the holotype .

Description. Body length up to 0.94 mm.

Colour pattern. Ground colour pale alcohol. Whole antenna and each segment gradually darker towards tip. Eye patches dark blue with transverse band between eye patches. Th. II–III and Abd. I with lateral patches. Abd. II–III with transverse bands and lateral part darker. Abd. IV with two median patches. Leg base pigmented. ( Fig. 1). Scales hyaline, oval to circular, present on head, tergites and ventral furcula, and absent on antennae, legs and sternites.

Antenna. Antenna 1.29–1.63 times as long as cephalic diagonal. Antennal segmental ratio as I: II: III: IV = 1: 1.38–1.59: 1.6–1.87: 2.56–2.82. Ant. IV apical bulb unilobed ( Fig. 2). Ant. III organ with 2 short, thin rods ( Fig. 3). Antennal basal smooth, straight microchaetae 3 dorsal and 2 ventral on Ant. I, 1 internal and 1 external on Ant. II, and absent on Ant. III and IV.

Head. Eyes 8+8, G and H smaller than others; interocular setae as p, r, s, t. Prelabral and labral setae 4/ 554, prelabrals ciliate and others smooth; labral papillae absent; labral intrusion V-shaped ( Fig. 4). Lateral process of labial palp straight with tip reaching slightly beyond apex of papilla ( Fig. 5). Maxillary outer lobe with 2 sublobal hairs; basal seta ciliate and stronger than apical one ( Fig. 6). Labial base as MrEL 1 L 2; r as smooth microchaeta; setae a1–5 ciliate. Marginal macrochaetae along labial cephalic groove 0s3c ( Fig. 7). Mesonotum not protruded over head.

Leg. Trochanteral organ with 6 smooth spiny setae, 5 in arms and 1 between arms ( Fig. 8). Unguis with 4 inner teeth, paired inner teeth with tip reaching 0.55 distance from base, median one 0.75 and distal one at 0.82 distance from base; median inner tooth much longer than others and distal one tiny. Unguiculus lanceolate with outer edge slightly serrate. Tenent hair clavate and longer than unguiculus ( Fig. 9).

Ventral tube. Unscaled, anteriorly with 8 ciliate setae ( Fig. 10), posteriorly with 2 apical smooth and 4 ciliate setae ( Fig. 11), each lateral flap with 5 smooth setae ( Fig. 12).

Furcula. Manubrial plaque with 1 pseudopore, 2 inner and 2 outer ciliate setae ( Fig. 13). Dental tubercles and spines absent. Smooth part of dens 2.42–3.04 times length of mucro. Mucro bidentate with apical tooth subequal to subapical one ( Fig. 14).

Chaetotaxy. Dorsal cephalic macrochaetae as R 0 R 1 R 2 T, S and P 0 absent; seta R 1s as microchaeta; in row A macrochaetae A5–7. Thoracic “collar” with 1–2 rows of heavy truncate setae. Body macrochaetae as 00/ 0100+2; complete s-chaetotaxy as 21/11182 and microsensillar formula as 10/10000. Th. II with 2 anterolateral s-chaetae and posterior one absent, microsensillum external to sensillum ( Fig. 15). Th. III with 1

sensillum external to m7, microchaetae m2, a3–4, m4–5 and a6 much shorter than other microchaetae, all setae smooth ( Fig. 16). Abd. I with 1 lateral microsensillum and 12 smooth microchaetae; a2–3, a5 and p5 much shorter than others ( Fig. 17). Abd. II with 1 central sensillum (as); microchaetae mi, a2, Li, Lm and Ll ciliate, modified and other microchaetae smooth; seta Lm strongly fan-shaped but often absent; setae a3, m3e, m4, m6–7 and el shorter than other microchaetae; seta a2p absent ( Fig. 18). Abd. III with 1 central sensillum (as) and lateral ones (d1, d2) absent; microchaetae mi, a2, Li, Lm, a6, am6 and em ciliate, modified and other microchaetae smooth; setae a2 and Li fan-shaped; setae Ll and im absent ( Fig. 19). Abd. IV with 2 common sensilla (as, ps) and 6 elongate sensilla; setae A3–6, B3–4, Be3, C1–4, T1, T3, T5, Te3, D1p, D3p, De1, E4p, F2, Fe1, Fe4 and r as smooth microchaetae; setae B5, E2–3, F1 and F3 as thick, apically taped, ciliate macrochaetae; setae B6, T6–7, D2–3, De3, E1, E4, E4p2, F3p and Fe6 uniformly taped, ciliate and of various length; setae a, m and D1 fan-shaped; seta pi ciliate and weekly modified; setae C1p, pe and supplementary seta s of anterior bothriotrichal complex absent ( Fig. 20). Abd. V with 2 sensilla and 22 setae ( Fig. 21).

Ecology. Among mixed algal sediments from intertidal zone of Bay of Bengal, east coast of India.

Etymology. Named after the abnormal absence of partial setae on dorsal body.

Remarks. This new species bears some unique characters, such as ciliate basal seta and 2 sublobal hairs on maxillary outer lobe, vestigial seta r and ciliate setae a1–5 on labium, elongate median inner tooth on unguis, absence of s-chaetae d1 and d2 on Abd. III and median one on Abd. V, absence of setae Ll and im on Abd. III, and absence of setae C1p, pe and s on Abd. IV. Lepidocyrtus (Lanocyrtus) absens sp. nov. is most similar to L. (Lanocyrtus) gumgum Yoshii, 1982 in body length, unilobed Ant. IV apical bulb, labral setae, absence of labral papillae, labial formula MrELL, claw structure, mucro, absence of s on Abd. IV and distribution of scales; it differs from the latter in colour pattern, V-shaped labral intrusion, ciliate labial setae a1–5, 8 setae on anterior face of ventral tube and 5 smooth setae on lateral flap, 4+4 setae on manubrial plaque. The differences between two species are given in Table 1. The new species can be separated from another Indian species, L. (Lanocyrtus) caeruleicornis Bonet, 1930 , by colour pattern (white body in L. caeruleicornis ), longer ungual inner teeth (all tiny in the latter), shorter tenent hair, and longer smooth part of dens.