Sminthuridae, Lubbock, 1862

Antipova, M. D. & Babenko, A. B., 2022, An annotated checklist of the springtails (Hexapoda: Collembola) recorded from the foothill and mountain parts of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, North Caucasus, Russia, Russian Entomological Journal 31 (4), pp. 331-345 : 341-342

Family Sminthuridae

Caprainea marginata (Schött, 1893) . A European species, found in the nature reserve only in a pine forest near the village of Nar [ Kuznetsova et al., 2019].

Lipothrix lubbocki (Tullberg, 1872) . The species occurs in Europe and North Africa. It is very common in the forests of the North Caucasus [ Dobrolyubova, 1984a; Kuchiev, 2006, both sub as species of the genus Sphyrotheca ; Kuznetsova et al., 2019; our material].

** Sminthurus sp.1 . The light-coloured form of unclear taxonomic identity with a small dark spot on Abd.6. In contrast to the similarly coloured and widespread S. viridis (Linnaeus, 1758) , this one is characterized by the presence of two setae on the lower subcoxae of the third pair of legs, and a short anal appendage (<½ mucro). The species has been found in the upper part of the Tsey Gorge in the belt of young mixed forests.

** Sminthurus sp.2 . Unlike the previous species, this form, found on a lateral moraine of the Skazsky Glacier , shows a contrasting pattern and claws without pronounced tunic. It can prove to be S. multipunctatus tristrigata Stach, 1956 , known from a nearby area (based on the collection date, the Stach’s material was taken somewhere in the Cherek Balkarsky Valley). Since our material contains only two immature males and a juvenile, comparisons are difficult to draw.

Spatulosminthurus flaviceps (Tullberg, 1871) . A European species common in the forests of the North Caucasus [ Stach, 1956; Grinbergs, 1960], including the North Ossetian Nature Reserve [ Kuchiev, 2006; Kuznetsova et al., 2019; our material].