Deutonura schulzi, Smolis & Skarżyński & Gwiazdowicz, 2023

Smolis, Adrian, Skarżyński, Dariusz & Gwiazdowicz, Dariusz J., 2023, New species of Neanuridae (Collembola) living on the endemic tree Zelkova abelicea in Crete, Zootaxa 5278 (2), pp. 333-350 : 340

Deutonura schulzi sp. nov.

Figs 23–29 , Tab. 1

Type material. Holotype: male, bark of Zelkova abelicea trees, slope of Mt. Kedros near Gerakari village (35.194829 N, 24.606713 E), 1255 m a. s. l., Crete, Greece, 11.X.2018, leg. D.J. Gwiazdowicz. Paratype: male, same data as holotype.

Description. General. Habitus typical of genus. Dorsal tubercles present and well developed. Body length (without antennae): 1.25 to 1.52 mm (holotype: 1.52 mm). Colour of the body bluish grey. 2 + 2 large black eyes, in a typical arrangement for the genus ( Fig. 23 ).

Chaetal morphology. Dorsal ordinary chaetae of three types: long macrochaetae (Ml), short macrochaetae (Mc) and mesochaetae. Long macrochaetae thickened, slightly arc-like or straight, narrowly sheathed, serrated and apically rounded. Macrochaetae Mc similar to long macrochaetae, but shorter. Mesochaetae similar to ventral chaetae, thin, smooth and pointed. S-chaetae of terga thin, smooth and short, clearly shorter than nearby macrochaetae ( Figs 23, 29 ).

Antennae. Typical of the genus. Dorsal chaetotaxy of Ant. III–IV as Tab. 1b . S-chaetae of Ant. IV of medium length and relatively thin, sensillum sgd short and straight. Apical vesicle distinct, trilobate. Ventral chaetotaxy of Ant. III and Ant. IV as Tab. 1b .

Mouthparts. Buccal cone relatively short and wide, labral sclerifications nonogival ( Fig. 27 ). Labrum chaetotaxy: 4/2, 4. Labium as in Fig. 24 . Maxilla styliform ( Fig. 26 ), mandible relatively thin and tridentate ( Fig. 25 ).

Dorsal chaetotaxy and tubercles. Head, Th. and Abd. without free chaetae. Cephalic tubercles Af and Cl fused. Head with two granular areas, between chaetae A and B, and between chaetae C and D ( Fig. 23 ). Elementary tubercles DE and EE on head present. Head without chaeta O. Chaetae Dl3 and DL6 on head as Mc. Th. I with tubercles Di and De not fused. Chaetae Di3 on Th. II-III not free. On Th. III, chaetae De2 and De3 nearly equal in length. On Abd. I–III, chaetae De2 and De3 nearly equal in length ( Fig. 23 ). Tubercles Di on Abd. V not bilobed. Cryptopygy well developed, Abd. VI not visible from above ( Fig. 29 ).

Ventral chaetotaxy. On head, groups Vea, Vem and Vep with 4, 3, 4 chaetae respectively. Group Vi on head with 6 chaetae. On Abd. IV, furca rudimentary without macrochaetae. On Abd. V, chaetae Vl present and L’ absent. Male ventral organ absent.

Legs. Chaetotaxy of legs as in Fig. 28 and Tab. 1c . Claw with internal tooth ( Fig. 28 ). On tibiotarsi, chaeta M present and chaetae B4 and B5 relatively short.

Etymology. Dedicated to Dr. Hans-J̧rgen Schulz, who made a significant contribution to the knowledge of the fauna of Crete.

Remarks. Viewing the last published key of the genus ( Deharveng et al. 2015), Deutonura schulzi sp. nov. seems to be closest to D. vallespirensis Deharveng, 1982 , species described and known from the French Pyrenees ( Deharveng 1982). However, these species differ in few but important characters, including the number of chaetae (L+So) on the head (7–8 in D. vallespirensis , 10 in D. schulzi sp. nov.), the shape of granular area between chaetae C and D (quadratic in D. vallespirensis , rectangular in D. schulzi sp. nov.), the number of chaetae (De+Dl+L) on Abd. V (6+s in D. vallespirensis , 7+s in D. schulzi sp. nov.) and the presence of internal tooth on claw (absent in D. vallespirensis , present in D. schulzi sp. nov.). Especially the latter character of the new species is worth emphasizing as it is unknown or not described within the genus.

Figures

FIGURES 23–29. Deutonura schulzi sp. nov.: 23, dorsal chaetotaxy of head, Th. and Abd. I; 24, chaetotaxy of labium and group Vi; 25, mandible; 26, maxilla; 27, chaetotaxy of labrum; 28, tibiotarsus and claw of third pair of legs, lateral view; 29, dorsal chaetotaxy of Abd. V–VI.