Friesinae

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 : 336-337

Subfamily Friesinae

Friesea albida Stach, 1949 . The species is characterized by a reduced number of ocelli, 3 anal spines, the absence of a mucro [stage 3 furcal reduction, according to Massoud, 1967] and the poorly developed clavate setae. Originally, F. albida was described from mountain forests of Eastern Europe ( Poland and Ukraine) and considered as endemic to these regions. Later [ Cassagnau, 1958], several Western European forms of this species were distinguished, differing in the number of ocelli: 5+ 5 in albida albida , 4+ 4 in a. pyrenaica Cassagnau, 1958 , 6+ 6 in a. atypica Cassagnau, 1958, and 3+ 3 in a. montechristii Dallai, 1969. All these “forms” are presently considered as full species on www.collembola.org. Friesea albida was already recorded from the North-Ossetian Nature Reserve [ Kuchiev, 2006] and some other parts of the Northern Caucasus [Dobrolyubova, 1984, 1984a; Petrova and Dobrolyubova, 1987]. Two clearly distinguished forms of this complex were discovered in the Tsey Gorge. The first one was referred to as Friesea sp. 2 [ Kuznetsova et al., 2019], characterized by the presence of 4+4 large ocelli and 17-17- 16 setae on the tibiotarsi (as in F. pyrenaica ). The second one is present in our material from the upper reaches of Tsey Gorge: immature specimens with 5+5 ocelli and a more complete set of tibiotarsal setae (18-18-17, i.e. only M setae are missing). The true species identity of these forms requires clarification.

F. mirabilis (Tullberg, 1871) . A cosmopolitan species quite common in the North Ossetian Nature Reserve, occurring from the subalpine zone to glaciers, including nunataks [ Kuchiev, 2006]. Based on our material, several specimens have been found in the Tsey Gorge on a 60-year old moraine with a developed birch forest at an altitude of 2244 m a.s.l.

F. stachi Kseneman, 1936 . According to the list of the springtails of the nature reserve, this species is common in the high mountainous parts, occurring from the alpine belt to glaciers [ Kuchiev, 2006]. The reliability of the record of this western Carpathian endemic [Kaprus’ et al., 2006] in the Caucasus region needs to be verified.

F. sp.aff. subterranea Cassagnau, 1958. A representative of the European mountain group characterized by the presence of 4 anal spines, 17-17-16 tibiotarsal setae (neither setae M nor A4) and the complete absence of colour, eyes and a furca. This species was referred to as Friesea sp. 1 by N.A. Kuznetsova et al. [2019] found in a pine forest near the village of Nar.

Subfamily Neanurinae

Biloba (?) caucasica Stach, 1951 . The generic allocation of this species, described by J. Stach from Kabardino-Balkaria (Cherek-Bezenghiysky), has not yet been established. According to the list of the springtails of the North Ossetian Nature Reserve [ Kuchiev, 2006], the species is rare and occurs in the forest belt of the Tsey and Kassar gorges. The identity requires confirmation, since the species clearly needs to be redescribed.

Endonura alticola ( Stach, 1951) . A Caucasian endemic, described by J. Stach from a pine forest of the Karaugom Gorge, where the only known specimen was collected at about 1800 m a.s.l. Now this territory belongs to the Alaniya National Park. Originally, the species was placed in the genus Biloba . Only recently, after an analysis of type material, it was transferred to the genus Endonura [ Smolis and Kuznetsova, 2016].

E. ossetica Smolis et Kuznetsova, 2016 . Another endemic Caucasian species described from a maple forest near Verkhniy Tsey. At a location close (beech forest) to the type habitat we have found specimens almost identical in morphology to the types. The only difference from the real E. ossetica is an intense dark blue colour (in the original description, the colour was white). These forms seem to be conspecific, while the difference in colouration may be due to of type specimens having got faded as a result of prolonged storage (the date of the typical collections was September 16 th, 1990). In addition, E. ossetica was described from one adult female and several juveniles, whereas our collections comprise both males and females, this complementing the information about the biology of this species.

Neanura minuta Gisin, 1963 . A European species, but also recorded from Turkey [ Özata et al., 2017]. Only a single record is known from the nature reserve: pine forests near the village of Nar [ Kuznetsova et al., 2019].

N. muscorum (Templeton, 1835) . The species is considered cosmopolitan, being quite common in the Tsey Gorge [ Kuchiev, 2006]. We have recorded it in a mixed forest (2190 m a.s.l), as well as a lower beech forest.

Neanurinae gen. sp. The record given in the paper by N.A. Kuznetsova et al. [2019] concerns pine forests near the Nar village. The condition of the single specimen upon which this record was based does not allow us to identify it closer.

Paravietnura insolita Smolis et Kuznetsova, 2018 . The species has recently been described from the Tsey Gorge: a pine forest on the southern slope of Kalpersky Range, 2160 m a.s.l. It is known only from the type locality.