Deuteraphorura scotaria ( Gisin, 1954 )

Fanciulli, Pietro Paolo, Loreti, Mara & Dallai, Romano, 2010, A new cave species of Deuteraphorura (Collembola: Onychiuridae) and redescription of four species of the genus from Italy, Zootaxa 2609, pp. 34-54 : 49-50

Deuteraphorura scotaria ( Gisin, 1954) , Deuteraphorura bosnaria ( Gisin, 1964)

We also reconsidered the two species Deuteraphorura scotaria ( Gisin, 1954) and Deuteraphorura bosnaria ( Gisin, 1964) . Dallai and Malatesta (1982), in the checklist of the Italian cave species of Collembola , reported the presence of both D. scotaria and D. bosnaria , but sampling localities were not indicated. This is probably the reason why Deharveng (2007) did not report their presence in Italy in the checklist of the European species of Deuteraphorura .

Material examined of D. scotaria : 10 slides in collembolan collection, Department of Evolutionary Biology, University of Siena. Five specimens were collected from caves in North-eastern Italy. Two of them labelled as “ Onychiurus scotarius, Grotta c/o Clenia, valle del Natisone (GO), 4-IV-69 (leg. G. M. Paoletti)”, and the remaining three labelled as “ Onychiurus scotarius, Montello , grotta del Forame, (Bus delle Fave), 30- IV-72 (leg. G.M. Paoletti)”. The other five specimens were most likely collected in open habitats, as the label do not indicate that they had been found in caves. Three labelled as “ Onychiurus scotarius, Dolomiti orientali, Cortina, 15-VIII-1972 ” and two as “ Onychiurus scotarius, Cadore , 26-V-1966 ”.

In these slides, the thoracic sternites II and III, revealed the presence of two different structures; one can be really regarded as a true pseudocellus, while the other, as in D. pseudobosnaria , has an atypical morphology, not resembling typical pseudocelli. Furthermore its position close to the linea ventralis is unusual. Therefore, these could not be regarded as “typical pseudocelli”. Gisin (1954) described the ventral formula of thoracic sternites of D. scotaria , as follows: “….A la face ventrale des Thorax II et III, les pseudocelles, mal développés, sont places non loin du canal central, l’un au bord anterieur du bourrelet antérieur, l’autre sur le grand bourrelet posterieur…“. This description let us suppose that a pair of observed “pseudocelli” are not in fact true pseudocelli.

A similar conclusion could be drawn regarding the species D. bosnaria ( Gisin, 1964) , in which one of the pseudocelli on the thoracic sternites was defined by Gisin as “...et un paire rudimentaire sur le bourrelet postériore”. We examined the specimens of D. bosnaria deposited in the Collembolan collection, Department of Evolutionary Biology, University of Siena.

Material examined of Onychiurus bosnarius . Two slides labelled as “ Onychiurus bosnarius ; Cansiglio, Bus dell’orso (TV humus) 1-X-72 (leg. M.G. Paoletti)” and two additional ones of juvenile specimens, labelled as “ Onychiurus cf bosnarius Prealpi venete, Bus dei Notoli, S. Michele di Feletto (TV), 9-XI-69. (leg. M.G. Paoletti)” (bus meaning “cave” in the local dialect).

Also in these specimens, the pseudocellar formula of sternites II and III is difficult to interpret due to a pair of pseudocelli that, as in the previous species, display an atypical shape and position. Given the difficulty to ascertain the actual status of the ventral pseudocellar formula in these two species we deemed it more appropriate to reconsider the type material of all species described by Gisin ( D. scotaria , D. bosnaria and D. ossaria ) as displaying “022” pseudocelli in the thoracic sternites for a further future note.