Megalothorax perspicillum Schneider & D’Haese, 2013

Schneider, Clément & Panina, Ksenia, 2023, Revision of Megalothorax incertus Börner, 1903 reveals it to be another widespread Palearctic species of the genus (Collembola, Neelidae), Zootaxa 5318 (4), pp. 474-488 : 484-485

Megalothorax perspicillum Schneider & D’Haese, 2013

New material. Two females, one male and one juvenile on slides (SMNG-APT-AA00029–32), Italy, Sicily, Palermo , botanical garden, 14 Nov. 2014, 38.1126°N, 13.3742°E, soil below humid litter under Ficus watkinsiana F.M. Bailey , leg. C. Schneider , original collection code: CS.007.IT. Six females, (SMNG-APT-AA00033–38), Italy, Sicily, Scopello, Riserva Naturale Orientata dello Zingaro , 22 Nov. 2014, 38.0995°N, 12.7969°E, mosses with its substrate on side of the coastal path, leg. C. Schneider , original collection code: CS.036.IT. Five females and two males on slide, Russia, Krasnodar, 28 April 2021, 45.0644°N, 38.8144°E, upper layer of soil (up to 10 cm) with mulch, leg. K. Panina. Two females on slide, Russia, Stavropol Region, Mikhailovsk , 27 April 2021, 45.1278°N, 42.0574°E, upper layer of soil (up to 10 cm) with mulch, leg. K. Panina.

Molecular data. One individual from CS.007.IT, two individuals from CS.036.IT (Genbank accession number in Table 1 ). Vouchers have not been recovered.

Description. As in Schneider and D’Haese (2013), with new specimens up to 400 µm body size, and labral a1 chaetae with external tooth.

Comments. Papáč & Kováč (2013) reported some specimens identified as M. cf. perspicillum , differing from the original description by having serrated labral a1 chaetae (vs smooth in the original description). In the novel specimens examined here, those chaetae are serrated. We confirmed that the original specimens have at least faintly serrated labral a1 chaetae, and we consider the possible variation to be within the species boundary.