ABSTRACT
Springtails (Collembola) inhabit soils from the Arctic to the Antarctic and comprise an estimated ~32% of all terrestrial arthropods on Earth. Here, we present a global, spatially-explicit database on springtail communities that includes 249,912 occurrences from 44,999 samples and 2,990 sites. These data are mainly raw sample-level records at the species level collected predominantly from private archives of the authors that were quality-controlled and taxonomically-standardised. Despite covering all continents, most of the sample-level data come from the European continent (82.5% of all samples) and represent four habitats: woodlands (57.4%), grasslands (14.0%), agrosystems (13.7%) and scrublands (9.0%). We included sampling by soil layers, and across seasons and years, representing temporal and spatial within-site variation in springtail communities. We also provided data use and sharing guidelines and R code to facilitate the use of the database by other researchers. This data paper describes a static version of the database at the publication date, but the database will be further expanded to include underrepresented regions and linked with trait data.
Subject(s)
Arthropods , Animals , Ecosystem , Forests , Seasons , SoilABSTRACT
A hotspot of subterranean Collembola in ferruginous rock caves and Mesovoid Shallow Substratum is revealed by the analysis of pseudocryptic diversity. The diversity is accessed by detailed description of chaetotaxy and slight variation in morphology of 11 new species of Trogolaphysa Mills, 1938 (Collembola, Paronellidae, Paronellinae) and the 50 previously recorded species of springtails from caves, using optical and electronic microscopy. When combined with recent subterranean surveys, our results show an important reservoir of cave diversity in the Mesovoid Shallow Substratum. Contrastingly the conservation policy for subterranean fauna in metallogenic areas in Brazil prioritizes the caves instead the cave species, which may be extremely detrimental to the fauna in the shallow subterranean habitats not accessible to humans.
Subject(s)
Arthropods , Animals , Arthropods/anatomy & histology , Brazil , Caves , Ecosystem , Humans , PolicyABSTRACT
A new genus and two new species of Sminthurinae are described. Keratosminthurus tapigu gen. nov. sp. nov. and K. calamitosus sp. nov. show a combination of features that redefines the subfamily Sminthurinae, such as a pair of sminthuroid chaetae, unguis without cavity, nine apical chaetae on tibiotarsus, 11 or more anterior dental chaetae, fourth antennal segment clearly subdivided into many (18 or more) subsegments, and asymmetric apex of mucro. The new genus also presents a striking sexual dimorphism, with modifications on male apical organ of antennal segment III, spines on the clypeus and special organs on the interocular area.
Subject(s)
Arthropods , Animals , Brazil , Male , Sex CharacteristicsABSTRACT
Herein, eyeless Pseudosinella species from Brazilian caves are reviewed, including the description of 23 new species, new records plus additional notes on the descriptions of P. ambigua Zeppelini, Brito, and Lima and of P. guanhaensis Zeppelini, Brito, and Lima. We also provide an identification key to 27 eyeless species recorded from Brazil. To organize the 26 Brazilian eyeless taxa analyzed in this work, we organize them in apparently artificial groups: 11 species have one larger tooth on the unguiculus outer lamella (petterseni group); one presents unguiculus outer lamella smooth or serrated (never with a larger tooth), with 9 held prelabral chaetae undivided and the last 6 held prelabral chaetae bifurcated. The Brazilian species of eyeless Pseudosinella herein described present a remarkably conservate dorsal chaetotaxy; therefore, the main diagnostic characters are related to other features like prelabral, labral, and ventral head chaetotaxy and empodial complex morphology. In addition, our study suggests that Brazilian caves possibly shelter a great diversity of Pseudosinella taxa, several of them potentially cave dependent.
ABSTRACT
Three new species of Collembola are described for Southeastern Brazil: Arrhopalites mendoncae sp. nov., Pararrhopalites queirozi sp. nov., and Coecobrya phoenix sp. nov. Although they were collected in caves and present characters such as absence of pigmentation, reduction or absence of eyes, and restriction to the local hypogean environment, none of them is troglobite. It is the first Coecobrya known from Brazil, the second species of the genus Arrhopalites with a trichobothrial complex angle superior to 160°, and the third species of the genus Pararrhopalites with three sensilla in the inter-antennal region. All species are named in honor of the Museu Nacional do Rio de Janeiro, and our colembologist colleagues, who recently had an entire collection destroyed by a fire of great proportions.
Subject(s)
Arthropods , Animals , Brazil , Caves , Insecta , PigmentationABSTRACT
Three new species of Collembola are described from small shallow caves in Southeastern Brazil: Arrhopalites glabrofasciatus sp. nov., Pseudosinella ambigua sp. nov. and Pseudosinella guanhaensis sp. nov. The species were found in surveys performed as part of the process to accomplish the permits for high impact enterprising. The change in the legislation is discussed and a suggestion is made to improve the process. The long term effects of the law resulted in the discovery of many new species and genera, most of them being (or to be) described.
