Endonura persica, Smolis, Adrian, Kahrarian, Morteza, Piwnik, Agata & Skarzynski, Dariusz, 2016

Smolis, Adrian, Kahrarian, Morteza, Piwnik, Agata & Skarzynski, Dariusz, 2016, Endonura Cassagnau in Iran, with a key to species of the genus (Collembola, Neanuridae, Neanurinae), ZooKeys 553, pp. 53-71 : 61-64

Taxon classification Animalia Collembola Neanuridae

Endonura persica sp. n. Figs 10-13, Table 3

Type material.

Holotype: adult female on slide, Iran, Kermanshah area, near Ghaleh shahin village (N34°25.590', E05°12.415', 566 m a.s.l.), litter in willow shrubs, 7.IV.2014, leg. M. Kahrarian. Paratypes: two females, four males and four juveniles on slides, same data as holotype.

Other material.

Female on slide, Iran, Kermanshah Province, Halashi County, near Sarfiroozabad village (N34°02', E47°10', 1624 m a.s.l.), litter in oak forest, 15.II.2014, leg. M. Kahrarian; female and male on slide, Iran, Osmanevand area, near Sarjoob village (N33°56', E47°08', 1240 m a.s.l.), litter in oak forest, 13.XII.2013, leg. M. Kahrarian.

Etymology.

The species name refers to the historic name of Iran, Persia.

Diagnosis.

Habitus typical of the genus Endonura . Dorsal tubercles present and generally well developed, only tubercles Di on th. I weakly differentiated. 2+2 large dark-pigmented eyes. Buccal cone rather short. Head with chaetae A, B, C, D, E, F and G. Chaeta O absent. Tubercles Cl and Af separate. Tubercles Dl and (L+So) on head with five and eight chaetae respectively. Tubercles De on th. II and III with three and four chaetae respectively. Tubercles L on abd. III and IV with four and 6-7 chaetae respectively. Abd. IV and V with eight and three tubercles respectively. Claw with inner tooth. Tibiotarsi with chaetae B4 and B5 long.

Description.

Habitus typical of the genus. Body length (without antennae): 0.75-1.90 mm (holotype: 1.10 mm). Colour of the body bluish grey. 2+2 large dark pigmented eyes (Fig. 10).

Types of dorsal ordinary chaetae. Macrochaetae Ml thickened, relatively long, arc–like or straight, narrowly sheathed, feebly serrated, apically rounded or rarely pointed (Figs 10, 12); macrochaetae Mc and Mcc thickened, straight and not pointed; mesochaetae and microchaetae short, thin and pointed.

Head. Buccal cone short. Labrum rounded, with ventral sclerifications as in Fig. 11. Labrum chaetotaxy 4/2, 4. Labium with four basal, three distal and four lateral chaetae, papillae x absent. Maxilla styliform, mandible thin with two basal and two apical teeth. Chaetotaxy of antennae as in Table 3c. Apical vesicle distinct trilobed. S–chaetae of ant.IV of medium length and moderately thickened. Chaetotaxy of head as in Table 3a, b, and Fig. 10. Chaetae D and E free. Tubercles Cl and Af separate. Tubercle Af on head longer than tubercles Oc. Tubercle Dl with five chaetae, chaeta Dl3 absent. Tubercle (L+So) with eight chaetae, chaetae So2 and L3 absent (Fig. 10). Elementary tubercle BE absent. Chaeta A shorter than B.

Thorax, abdomen, legs. Body s–chaetae fine and smooth, distinctly shorter than nearby macrochaetae (Fig. 12). Chaetotaxy of th. and abd. as in Table 3d and in Figs 10, 12. Tubercles Di on th.I differentiated or not. Chaetae De2 on th. II–III and De3 on th. III free. Chaetae De3 on abd. I–III free (Fig. 12). The line of chaetae De1-chaeta s parallel to the dorsomedian line on abd. I–III. Furca rudimentary without microchaetae. Tubercles Di on abd. V fused, with chaetae Di2 as Mcc and Di3 as mi (Fig. 12). Chaetae Vl on abd. V present. Cryptopygy slightly developed. Chaetotaxy of legs as in Table 3d. Tibiotarsi with rather long chaetae B4 and B5. Claw with inner tooth (Fig. 13).

Remarks.

In general appearance and presence of inner tooth on claw, characters rarely observed within the genus, Endonura persica sp. n. strongly resembles to Endonura dentifera Smolis et al. 2007 (described from Crimea). However, the new species can be reliably separated from Crimean species with the following characters: number of chaetae Dl on head ( persica sp. n. five, dentifera six), number of chaetae (L+So) on head ( persica sp. n. eight, dentifera ten), presence/absence of tubercles Di on the first thoracic segment ( persica sp. n. present, dentifera absent) and number of chaetae L of abd. IV ( persica sp. n. 6-7 chaetae, dentifera 8-9).