Tabasconura, Palacios-Vargas, José G. & Catalán, Elihú, 2015

Palacios-Vargas, José G. & Catalán, Elihú, 2015, Tabasconura tapijulapana gen. nov. sp. nov. (Collembola: Neanuridae) from Tabasco, México, Zootaxa 3947 (1), pp. 131-138 : 131-132

Tabasconura gen. nov.

Type species: Tabasconura tapijulapana sp. nov.

Neanurinae lacking body pigment, but with 2+2 pigmented eyes. Body tubercles slightly elongated, more pronounced towards the abdominal region. Body lacking hypodermic blue pigment. Mouthparts typical of the family. Body sensillary chaetotaxy typical for the tribe. Ant. IV with S7 and S2 hypertrophied, both at least twice as thick as other sensilla. Cephalic seta Di 1 isolated from De 1. Lateral cephalic region with fusion of tubercules: DL+L+So. Lacking tubercle Di on Th. I. Abd. IV with tubercles De and DL fused, Abd. V with tubercles De +DL+L fused.

Discussion. The slightly elongated tubercles and the modification of antennal sensillum S2 are the main characters that separate Tabasconura n. gen. from other genera of the same tribe. In Table 1 species were selected from different nodes of the phylogenetic analyses published by Palacios-Vargas, et al (2009) and Paniagua Nucamendi (2014).

Elongation of the tubercles is a character also found in Rambutanura Deharveng, 1988, Digitanura Deharveng, 1987, Thaianura Yossi, 1961 and Womersleya Denis, 1948 , all belonging to the tribe Paleonurini Cassagnau, 1989 . This may possibly be an example of evolutionary convergence. There is also a geographic difference between the new genus, Tabasconura n. gen. and the four genera of Paleonurini as the latter are only recorded from South East Asia, with the exception of the genus Rambutanura which is found only in the Malaysian and Continental Southeastern Asia biogeographic region (Bellinger et al., 2012).

Etymology. The name of genus refers to the Mexican State where it was collected, Tabasco.

Groups of setae on head Number of Total of setae Kind of setae Setae tubercles