Lepidocyrtinus africanus Cipola & Morais & Bellini 2020, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Cipola, Nikolas Gioia
name: Morais, José Wellington De
name: Bellini, Bruno Cavalcante
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Collembola
Entomobryomorpha
Entomobryidae
Lepidocyrtinus
Lepidocyrtinus africanus

description: Lepidocyrtinus africanus sp. nov. Cipola & Bellini
Figs 2, 23–31, Tables 1 and 3
Type Material. Holotype female on slide (INPA-CLL 0000110): South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal province, Ndumo Game Reserve, Ezulweni Hide near to Nyamiti lake, 26°53’11.0”S, 32°18’36.7”E (Fig. 2), 35 m., 27.xi-3.xii.2014, Yellow Pan Trap, SL Winterton & PH Kerr coll. 11 paratypes: 1 male, 2 females and 1 juvenile on slides and 2 specimens in alcohol (INPA-CLL 0000110), 1 female on slide (CC / UFRN), and 2 females and 2 specimen in alcohol (SAM / IZIKO), all with the same data of the holotype.
Diagnosis. Body with dark pigments on inner side of Ant II–III, all head and proximal legs; Abd III with one lateral spot in club-shape, and all Abd V to proximal manubrium (Fig. 23A); head mac A0, A2–3, A5, M1–2, M4i, S0–3, S5–6 and Pp5 present; prelabral chaetae ciliated; labial papilla E with l.p. apically pointed and reaching the base of a.a.; basolateral and basomedian labial fields with chaetae R (subequal to others), E, L1–2 ciliated (Figs 24 C–D, F–G); Th II projected anteriorly and with 14–15 anterior, 8 median (m1ip, m4–4p present, m4i mac absent) and 12 posterior mac (p2ep as mac, p3 as mic); Th III–Abd II with 9, 5, 4 central mac respectively; Abd IV with 16 central mac and 13 lateral mac, B6 mac modified (Figs 25–27); unguis a.t. present; unguiculus with pe lamella smooth and toothless (Fig. 28E); collophore anteriorly with 10 spine-like chaetae and 2 ciliated chaetae apically acuminate, posteriorly without spines, smooth chaeta absent (Fig. 29A); manubrium ventrally with 0/2 subapical chaetae; manubrial plate with 3 blunt mac abruptly acuminate at the apex; dens with 5–7 blunt mac apically bulletlike (Figs 29 B–C).
Description. Total length (head + trunk) of specimens 2.63–2.68 (n=4), holotype 2.68 mm. Specimens yellowish (except for tibiotarsus III and furcula part, pale white) with dark pigments on Ant I that extends in an inner strip to the Ant III distally, Ant IV (apex depigmented); head (more pigmented dorso-anteriorly laterally), one lateral spot in club-shape on Abd III, Abd V to proximal manubrium and coxae I–III; Abd IV posteriorly with vestigial ventrolateral pigments; eyepatches black (Fig. 23A). Scales present on Ant I to proximal one fifth of Ant III, dorsal and ventral head, dorsal thorax and abdomen, legs (except empodia), anterior collophore, ventral and dorsal manubrium and dens ventrally.
Head. Antennae subequal or slighty smaller than trunk length (Fig. 23A); ratio antennae: trunk = 1: 1.11–1.46 (n=3), holotype 1: 1.11; antennal segments ratio as I: II: III: IV = 1: 1.52–1.67: 2.9–3.17: 2.63–3.08, holotype 1: 1.54: 3.17: 2.63. Ant IV almost entirely annulated (except for a small proximal part) with apical bulb apically bilobed. Ant III annulated on distal three fourths, apical organ with 2 oval sens, 2 spiny guard sens, s-blunt sens of different sizes and ciliated chaetae (Fig. 24A). Ant I dorsally with 3 median mac and 3 smooth mic at the base, without spines (Fig. 24B). Eye A larger, G and H smaller, others subequal, and with 5 ‘IO’ chaetae; head dorsal macrochaetotaxy with 10–12 An, 4 A, 4 M, 7 S and 1 Pp mac (Fig. 24F). Clypeal formula with 4 (l1–2), 2 (ft), 3 (pf0–1) ciliated chaetae, l1–2 larger than the others, others subequal (Fig. 24C). Prelabral chaetae ciliated and not bifurcated. Labral p0–1 chaeta larger than the others, others subequal, p0 without filament (Fig. 24C). Labral papillae with two inner rounded projections, outer papillae absent (Fig. 24C). Maxillary palp with t.a. and b.c. both smooth, b.c. 1.09 larger than t.a. (Fig. 24E). Labial papilla E with l.p. apically pointed and almost reaching the base of a.a. (Fig. 24D). Basolateral and basomedian labial fields with chaetae M1–2, R, E, L1–2 ciliated, R subequal to others (Fig. 24G). Ventral head with about 20 ciliated chaetae, postlabial formula with 4 (G1–4), 3 (H2–4), 3 (J1–3) chaetae, 1 thin posterior chaeta and 2 larger chaetae, 1 b.c. surrounding the cephalic groove (Fig. 24G).
Thorax chaetotaxy (Fig. 25 A–B). Th II projected anteriorly, a, m and p series with 14–15, 8 and 12 mac, respectively. Th III a, m and p series with 2, 0 and 8 mac, respectively. Ratio Th II: III = 2.24–1.50: 1 (n=4), holotype 1.53: 1.
Abdomen chaetotaxy (Figs 25 C–D, 26–27). Abd I a, m and p series with 1, 4 and 0 mac, respectively, m4 absent. Abd II a, m and p series with 1, 4 and 0 mac, respectively. Abd III a, m and p series with 0, 3 and 1 mac, respectively. Abd IV with 16 central mac on A–T series and 13 lateral mac on E–Fe series, B6 mac modified; at least 4 posterior sens (ps type I, others type II) and 8 posterior mes. Abd V a, m and pa / p series with 1, 4 and 3/6 mac, respectively. Ratio Abd III: IV = 1: 3.12–4.74 (n= 4), holotype 1: 3.92.
Legs. Subcoxa I with 4–5 chaetae on a row and 2 psp; subcoxa II with an anterior row of 8 chaetae, posterior row of 5–6 chaetae and 4 psp; subcoxa III with one row of 8–9 chaetae, 0–1 posterior chaeta and 2 posterior psp (Fig. 28 A–C). Trochanteral organ with about 27 spine-like chaetae (Fig. 28D). Tibiotarsus subdivided or not, outer side with 4 proximal larger ciliated chaetae apically acuminate, inner side with 6 mac weakly ciliated, anterior side with 2 mac on proximal half. Unguis with 4 inner teeth, b.t. subequal to m.t. in length, a.t. smaller. Unguiculus with all lamellae smooth and acuminate; ratio unguis: unguiculus = 1: 0.56. Tibiotarsal smooth chaeta 1.54 larger than unguiculus and tenent hair 0.86 smaller than unguis outer edge (Fig. 28E).
Collophore. Anterior side with 16 chaetae, 10 spine-like chaetae, 1 proximal ciliated chaeta, 3 ciliated chaetae apically acuminate and 2 mac distally; posterior side with 10 ciliated chaetae (2 unpaired), 9 thin widely distributed and 1 thicker distally; lateral flap with about 29 chaetae, 4 smooth and 25 ciliated (Fig. 29A).
Furcula. Manubrium ventral formula with 1, 0, 0, 0/2 (subapical), 16–18 (apical) ciliated chaetae plus approximately 13 elongated apical scales per side (Fig. 29B); manubrial plate with 3 blunt mac ciliated and abruptly acuminate at apex (1 smaller), 5 ciliated chaetae of different sizes and 3 psp. Dens dorsally with one proximal row of 5–7 blunt mac weakly ciliated and apically bullet-like, holotype with 7 (Fig. 29C).
Etymology. Refers to the continent where the species was found, Africa.
Remarks. Lepidocyrtinus africanus sp. nov. resembles L. annulicornis, L. botswanensis sp. nov. and L. capensis Womersley, 1934 by Ant III–IV annulated, prelabral chaetae ciliated (at least in L. botswanensis), Th II with 6 median mac in m1–2 complex, and PmB group with 3 mac, Th III to Abd II with 9, 5 and 4 central mac, respectively, unguis with 4 inner teth, and furcula with modified mac (see Table 2). However, L. africanus differs from these species by Abd III with one lateral spot in club-shape and Abd V to proximal manubrium completely pigmented, while in L. annulicornis there are violet pigments on femur III distally, in L. botswanensis the posterior head and coxae are weakly pigmented (Fig. 32), and in L. capensis there are dark pigments on head and Th II anteriorly (see Womersley 1934: 462). Concerning the chaetotaxy, L. africanus differs by Th II with 7 mac in PmA group (6 in L. annulicornis and L. botswanensis) and 2 in PmC group (4 in L. capensis), Th III with 9 central mac (8 in L. capensis), and Abd IV with B6 mac modified (Fig. 27), a feature never reported before to any species of Lepidocyrtinus or even other Seirinae. Finally, L. africanus also differs by unguiculus pe lamella smooth and toothless (serrated in L. annulicornis and L. botswanensis and with a proximal tooth in L. botswanensis and L. capensis), and manubrial plate and dens respectively with 3 and 5–7 blunt mac (less in the other species).
description: Published as part of Cipola, Nikolas Gioia, Morais, José Wellington De & Bellini, Bruno Cavalcante, 2020, Review of Lepidocyrtinus Börner, 1903 (Collembola, Entomobryidae, Seirinae): the African species, pp. 1-110 in Zootaxa 4898 (1) on pages 31-40, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4898.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/4392515